AN eighteen-year-old with “everything to live for” died on the way to pick up his keys for his first flat when he collided with a car on his motorbike.

Alex Thompson died when he collided with a Vauxhall Crossland turning across the carriageway on the A4 on June 22, 2023.

He had been heading east towards Hicks Gate Roundabout to pick up the keys for the flat on Keynsham High Street. He was travelling in excess of the speed limit and would not have been visible to the car driver, an inquest into his death heard on September 9.

Jo Thompson, Alex’s mother, said in a statement: “Our family has been left heartbroken by the death of our beautiful young Alex who was taken from us in the prime of his life. Alex was kind, caring, considerate and loved by everyone who knew him.

“We have been left devastated by this tragedy, particularly as it happened at a stage in his life when he was at his happiest. Alex had everything to live for and was looking forward to the next stage in his life before the collision.

“Alex was excited about the future and was on his way to collect the keys of the new flat he was moving into. His death is made even more painful in that it occurred at the point, at just 18 years old, where he was on the threshold of enjoying his journey as a young adult. 

“Alex will never be forgotten. Everyone that has ever loved him will still love him forever and everything he has taught us too as a son and brother.

“We are extremely grateful for the support we have received as a family from not only people in our local community, but from further afield and from all walks of life where Alex made a positive impact. This support has been an immense emotional help to us since the tragedy and will continue to be so in the future as we continue to struggle to come to terms with everything that has happened.”

An inquest at Avon Coroner’s Court which concluded on September 9 was packed with Alex’s friends, family, and loved ones.

Delivering her findings, assistant coroner Debbie Rookes said: “Alex Thompson died on the 22 June, 2023, on the A4/Bath Road, Hicks Gate, Bristol. Mr Thompson was riding his motorcycle along the A4/Bath Road towards the Hicks Gate roundabout when he collided with a motor vehicle that had turned right across the central reservation and across the path of Mr Thompson.

“Mr Thompson was travelling in excess of the speed limit and he was not visible to the driver of the motor vehicle at the time the decision was taken by the driver to make the manoeuvre.”

Alex lived in Keynsham and worked in asbestos removal. There was no evidence of Alex being under the influence of any drink or drugs at the time of the crash. The weather on the day was described as “fine.”

The driver of a blue Vauxhall Crossland was sitting in a gap in the central reservation, as instructed by her sat-nav after she had gone the wrong way. In a witness statement, she said she pulled away to cross the carriageway once she saw it was safe, intending to enter a lane on the other side.

In a witness statement, in which she said she was “devastated,” she said: “I saw cars but no motorbike.”

Ms Rookes told the friends and family in attendance, it was clear Alex was a special person. She said: “He was very much loved and very much missed.”