A well-loved Essex man tragically died on his way to work after a crash with a van on a busy road near Chelmsford. Christopher Thame, 31, from Southminster, died when the motorbike he was riding collided with another vehicle on the A414 at Writtle last year.
Mr Thame, who is understood to have worked in the broadcasting industry, was riding a BMW motorbike when he collided with a box van, Essex Coroner’s Court was told on Friday (January 3). The motorcyclist was described as an “all-round top bloke” by loved ones following his death on August 13.
Coroner Michelle Brown told a hearing Mr Thame collided with a van in front of him that had slowed down to turn right on the road. The vehicles were travelling on Greenbury Way when the motorcyclist’s “misjudgement” meant they collided with the vehicle they were behind.
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“Christopher was then thrown from the bike and suffered serious injuries,” Coroner Brown said. “There were no drugs or alcohol in his system. I think it was just a case of misjudgement. You see far too many of these sadly.”
The first 999 call was made at 8.16am and the air ambulance was dispatched seven minutes later. Sadly he was pronounced dead shortly before 10am. The road was closed for several hours whilst investigation work was carried out.
Tributes shared online described Mr Thame as a “general all-round top bloke”, a key member of staff and “top human”. One shared on LinkedIn said: “We are absolutely devastated to let you know that friend, colleague, former Radio TechCon presenter and committee member and general all-round top bloke, Chris Thame, has died. He was involved in a road traffic accident on his motorcycle journey into work on Tuesday (13th August).
“Sending all our love to his friends and family, and his work family at BATCAM and former colleagues at Wireless Group / News UK. Chris worked at News UK for many years, overseeing the Engineering team as Lead Stations Engineer, and working on projects such as the move from Hatfields to The News Building and launching TalkTV, before moving on in June 2023 to work at Batcam.”
Another said: “We are very sad to report the loss of a key member of staff and all round top human, Chris Thame. On Tuesday, Chris was on his motorbike on his way to work as usual. He was involved in a high speed collision and died at the scene.”
Coroner Brown said: “I conclude that Christopher Thame from Southminster died on August 13 at Greenbury Way in Writtle due to multiple injuries due to a road traffic collision. The only conclusion that I can leave is road traffic collision.”