black supra crash on A11 fatal .big power newbey!!

[Ben]

http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/sto ... 3A23%3A323

Father of two dies in road tragedy



10 July 2007 04:13

A father-of-two was killed in a car accident after attending the funeral of his schoolfriend who died on the final day of the Isle of Man TT races, it emerged last night.

Rikki Gardiner, 34, from Wymondham, was driving home after attending the celebration of Marc Ramsbotham's life at Snetterton Race Circuit on Thursday evening when his black Toyota Supra left the road on the A11 at Besthorpe.

Police investigations are continuing, but it is thought Mr Gardiner, who worked as a welder for Van Driel at East Harling, lost control of his vehicle in the wet weather and collided with a sign. His passenger escaped with bruising and shock.

Just hours before the accident Mr Gardiner had joined a procession of more than 50 motorcyclists and other vehicles to Wymondham Abbey for Mr Ramsbotham's funeral service.

Mr Ramsbotham, also 34, from Spooner Row, near Wymondham, was killed last month in a tragic accident at the Centenary TT event which also claimed the lives of two spectators and left two track marshals seriously injured.

Last night, Mr Gardiner's wife Vicki paid tribute to her husband describing him as a "loving father" to his two sons Brett, aged 14, and one-year-old Luca and a "wonderful family man".

"We are a very close family and Rik was a wonderful man," she said. "He was really straightforward and he had a great sense of humour.

"He had a huge circle of friends from all over the country and he was passionate about cars.

"He bought the Supra crash-damaged two years ago and fixed it up. He had only had it on the road a couple of months. He would spend every waking hour working on it and was very active in the Supra owners forum."

Mrs Gardiner, 31, said her husband had been hit hard by Mr Ramsbotham's death and in the days and weeks after the accident had made renewed efforts to catch up with other schoolfriends.

The pair both attended Wymondham High School and enjoyed riding their bikes together as teenagers, she said.

"He and Rammy had not been in touch for a few years and after the accident he made a point of going to see all the old crowd and got in touch with a lot of his friends. He really wanted to catch up with them," she said.

Mr Gardiner, whose parents Liz and Alan also live in Wymondham, used to play bass in a heavy metal band called Subvert. The band went on a nationwide tour and produced several albums.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalised, but Mrs Gardiner said any of her husband's friends were welcome to get in touch.

Police are still investigating the collision which happened at 7.25pm and any witnesses or anyone with any information should contact PC Stuart Townsend at Attleborough road policing unit on 0845 456 4567.

[Kieron]

oh shit, he had kids.

[Dave-GTO]

This is so tragic, it really hits home when reading something like this, especially when children etc are left
without a parent. My sympathies go to his wife, children and family

Dave.

[Stuart]

The lads on the Supra forum are doing a whip around for his folks. Here's the link
http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=117322

A very sad affair all around.