Teenager with 'heart of gold' kept tragic secret which led to his death

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A teenager tragically died while riding a motorbike that he kept secret from his family. Mckenna Leigh never told his parents that he had bought the previously-stolen Honda 125 with his pal.The 16-year-old died in hospital after crashing into a Vauxhall Vivaro van while driving past slow-moving traffic on Denton Road, Greater Manchester, on September 17 last year.An inquest into his death heard yesterday that Mckenna had picked up a pal outside McDonald's in Crown Point, with neither wearing a helmet.

While overtaking traffic, the bike collided with the van driven which had moved to the centre of the road, Manchester Evening News reports.Emergency crews were called to the scene shortly after 1pm and gave the teen CPR.

He suffered cardiac arrest and serious abdominal injuries. He was rushed to Manchester Royal Infirmary, but died shortly after 2pm.During the inquest at Stockport Coroners Court, Mckenna's heartbroken father told coroner Adrian Farrow that if he had known about the secret vehicle, the teen "wouldn't have been allowed out".

Mckenna had a "passion" for motorbikes at a young age but this appeared to cool as he got older, and he turned down the chance to complete compulsory basic training aged 16.His dad, Darren Smith, told the inquest that Mckenna often used his sister's pushbike instead, and had left their home with the bicycle at around 11.15am on the day of his death.