A61 Wakefield: Inquest hears horror crash left six dead after overtaking motorbike collided 'head-on' with car
A horror crash left six people dead after an overtaking motorbike collided “head-on” with a car, an inquest has heard.
Shane Roller, 33, Shannen Morgan, 30, and their daughters Rubie Morgan-Roller, nine, and Lillie Morgan-Roller, four, were all killed in the collision on July 21.
Christopher Barton, 56, and his wife Janine Barton, 48, who were on a motorcycle, also died in the incident on the A61, near Wakefield and Barnsley.
Wakefield Coroners Court heard at an opening into their deaths today (August 7) that Shane had been at the wheel of a silver Ford Focus that his family was travelling in. But shortly before 4pm - as the BMW motorbike driven by Christopher was overtaking another vehicle on the single carriageway - it hit his car “head on”.
All six of the casualties were confirmed dead at the scene of the collision, the court was told.
The driver of another car not involved in the crash was arrested days after the collision on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
West Yorkshire Police said he remained on bail.
The inquest was adjourned to a date to be decided following the completion of the police investigation.
A family friend, Paul Hepple, set up a fundraiser in the aftermath of the tragedy, which left Shane and Shanne's daughter, Poppie Roller, 11, without her parents and sisters.
And he previously told how she had cheated death by choosing not to go on a walk with her family - instead staying to play at his house with his daughter.
The dad-of-four had said: “Her mum actually contacted us and asked if we could watch Poppie because she didn’t want to go on the walk that they went on.
“So we were watching Poppie as she’s best mates with our daughter. She was with our daughter having fun. And on their way home, that’s when the accident happened.
“We were having Sunday dinner as a family, and Poppie’s auntie was with us and obviously, Poppie was as well.
“And then she got a phone call and she ended up leaving really quickly to go and see what happened.”
The software developer added: “No one knew what happened at that point and then the news came slowly, we saw a post on Facebook that there was an incident and it was terrible.”
The fundraiser Paul set up for Poppie has since made over £400,000 in donations, which will go towards her future needs.
And he revealed in a post on its page on July 31, that she had got the chance to speak to Stranger Things Star Millie Bobby Brown.
He wrote: “Poppie is doing well, and we have some exciting news to share: Yesterday, Poppie and her best friend had a video call with Millie Bobby Brown!
“Millie was absolutely amazing and super supportive.
“While the girls were a bit shy during the call, they went absolutely crazy with excitement afterward and couldn’t stop talking about Millie and the wonderful experience.
“This has truly put a huge smile on Poppie’s face and has been a bright spot during this challenging time.”