The wife of an Ashford motorcyclist killed in a crash on the A28 came across the accident minutes later, a jury has heard.

Amy Coates and husband Adam had spent the day together in Canterbury where he had left his Honda 600 to be serviced.

Mr Coates was given a courtesy bike by Kent Motor Cycles and left for home minutes ahead of his wife who was driving the family car.

She would later tell police how she came upon an incident and pulled over to try to track her husband through an app on her iPhone

“I knew Adam was in front of me and I just had a bad feeling. The app said he was near and on that road. I just knew. I got out of the car and went over to see what was happening. I saw him in the road.”

Prosecutor Dianne Chann said that the accident happened on a sunny Summer’s day in July last year on the A28.

The driver of the car, Claire Calnan, 39, of Faversham Road, Kennington has pleaded not guilty to causing death by driving carelessly.

She was travelling in the opposite direction and was turning into the village hall when the crash happened.

The first motorist on the scene Mrs Rosemary Waller said, in a statement read to the jury, that she foundCalnan sitting in her car calling the emergency services on her mobile phone.

Nearby, was a motor cycle with Mr Coates lying in the road “dying or already dead” after suffering fatal injuries.

"I knew Adam was in front of me and I just had a bad feeling. The app said he was near and on that road. I just knew. I got out of the car and went over to see what was happening. I saw him in the road" - Amy Coates

Calnan told Mrs Waller: “Where did he come from? I had my indicator on from right back there. He came out of nowhere.”

It was then Mrs Waller saw a distressed woman running down the road calling out the name of “Adam”.

A student midwife and a paramedic, who were travelling along the road, stopped to give Mr Coates aid.

The prosecutor claimed that crash happened on a stretch of road in which Calnan had a clear view of 320 metres.

“She was driving towards Canterbury and was turning right and was in the opposite carriageway when the collision happened.

Calnan would later tell police that it all happened “in a nano-second” after she had “double checked” that no vehicles were approaching.

She said she suddenly saw the motor cyclist’s face who was so close she “could almost touch him before there was a bang”.

The prosecutor said: “Either she didn’t see Mr Coates because she wasn’t keeping a proper look out, or she saw him and thought she could make the turn in time or she was distracted by something.

“There was no reason for Calnan not to have seen Mr Coates on his motorbike before she turned into his path. He had no opportunity to swerve or take avoiding action.

“Why she didn’t see the motorcyclist we may never know, “ she added.

The prosecutor said: “Mr Coates was not a bad motorcyclist; he was not at fault because he was riding on the correct side of the road and properly positioned in the road. It was Calnan who was in the wrong place.“

She claimed that Mr Coates would have been visible for up to 320 metres – and the bike had its lights on.

A police accident expert said it would have taken, on average, 1.35 seconds to turn into the hall carpark.

“For Mr Coates to have covered the 320 metres he would have had to be travelling up to 530 mph (corr) and obviously that didn’t happen,” said the prosecutor.

Before the start of the trial at Canterbury Crown Court, Judge Simon James told the jury:
"This case is about a road traffic accident which led to the tragic and untimely death of Mr Coates.

"There is no getting away from the fact that this case is going to engender considerable, understandable high emotions.

“There are those who loved Adam Coates who will miss him and I anticipate that when we hear the evidence there will be a lot of upset and there may well be tears.

“I imagine they will be but drops in the ocean of the tears which have been shed by those directly affected by this tragic case.”

The trial continues.