Overview
- Essex Police said a motorbike that failed to stop was pursued in Ongar and then collided with a van on the A414 near Bobbingworth, killing the rider, a man in his 30s, at the scene.
- The Independent Office for Police Conduct has opened an independent investigation following a referral from Essex Police.
- Officers arrested the van driver in connection with the collision and later released them under investigation.
- Paul Hardcastle said in an Instagram video that he spoke to his son minutes before the crash and that his son said, “I’ll get back to you in five minutes.”
- Hardcastle’s account describes a missed flight, a saxophone locked in an impounded car, use of a non‑road‑certified scrambler, and a possible unmarked police car following the bike, details that have been reported but not independently verified.