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A stoned biker speeding on the wrong side of the road died after smashing head-on into a car driven by Love Island winner Kem Cetinay, an inquest has heard.
There was “absolutely nothing” Mr Cetinay, now a showbiz presenter on ITV’s This Morning, could have done to prevent the fatal collision, the coroners’ court was told.
New dad Tommy Griggs was doing 44mph in a 30mph zone with fake number plates and no insurance or licence on a 125cc bike that had been modified with a 400cc engine.
As Kem turned into Shepherds Hill, Romford in his £130,000 4X4 Mercedes G-Wagon at 11.27am on August 4 last year, Mr Griggs smashed into his car, flinging him from his bike 20 feet into the air.
Senior Coroner Graeme Irvine ruled at Walthamstow Coroners’ Court that Mr Griggs sustained a large injury to his heart and would have lost consciousness very quickly.
Despite the air ambulance services attempting to defibrillate and intubate him, Mr Griggs was pronounced dead at the scene at 12.04pm.
The court heard that the crash was caused by the Romford dad speeding on the wrong side of the road around a bend where the drivers were obscured from one another by a hedge.
At the time the “lovable rogue” was travelling under fake plates, riding a motorbike that had been fitted with an engine over three times the standard, and 20 times over the legal limit for active cannabis ingredient THC.
His Suzuki was created to be a 125cc motorbike and registered as such, but it had been altered to run on a 400cc engine. It sported the wrong plates – just one number different to the legal registration.
The inquest heard that a 125cc bike operates with eight to 12 horsepower, which goes up to 40-50hp for a 400cc, boosting the acceleration and potentially the top speed.
According to family members Mr Griggs had only got the bike two days earlier.
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He only had a provisional license that allowed him to ride a 125cc and was not licensed to ride such a powerful bike.
Family members could not say who had adjusted the bike engine.
Post-mortem examinations showed he had consumed cannabis prior to the fatal crash, testing positive for 39 milligrams of THC in his blood, over 20 times the 2mg legal limit.
His GP records read to the court revealed that in 2018 and January 2022, Mr Griggs was involved in other road traffic collisions.
The coroner said there was absolutely nothing that Mr Cetinay could have done to stop the crash.
As a result, he decided there was no need to call Mr Cetinay to a hearing, and paraphrased evidence provided by the celebrity to police after the crash.
He said: “He came round the bend, he believed he was travelling at the legal speed limit. He said as soon as he came round the bend he saw the motorcycle approaching in his lane.
“The whole incident happened very, very quickly. He pulled on the steering wheel but he couldn’t give a clear recollection about whether he had any time to brake. He waited at the scene until emergency services arrived.”
Sober Mr Cetinay was travelling between 27 and 29 mph on the sunny morning in east London.
Summarising his verdict that Mr Grigg’s died from a road traffic collision, the coroner continued: “At that speed on the wrong side of the road he (Griggs) would have not been able to come out of that collision.
“Mr Cetinay, following the collision, did everything right. He stayed at the scene.”
