Friends pay tribute to biker (From Witney Gazette)

Friends pay tribute to biker

8:25am Monday 1st September 2008 in Witney By The Page Turner

Friends paid tribute to a biker who died after his Harley-Davidson motorcycle was involved in a crash with a car outside Chipping Norton.

The biker was on the A44 at Enstone, travelling towards Oxford, when his motorcycle was involved in a collision with a Rover 618, shortly after 4pm on Saturday.

Friends of the biker visited the scene, outside Worth's garage, yesterday and named the victim as Alexander Jackson, 48, of Croxford Gardens, Kidlington.

Andy Ayres, 49, and his wife Kay, of Iffley, Oxford, visited the crash site with Robert Davies, 48, and Sam MacKinnon, 46, both from Kidlington.

They attached flowers to the road sign, and left bouquets on the grass verge where Mr Jackson - known to his friends as CJ - came to rest following the crash.

Mr Ayres said: "We have all been friends for years and we all love classic bikes. For years CJ loved Triumphs but yesterday he was riding his 1340cc Harley-Davidson EletraGlide. We came here to leave flowers and pay our respects. I found his sunglasses and house keys on the grass verge."

Mr Ayres added that Mr Jackson grew up in Toot Baldon, outside Oxford, but now lived on his own in a flat in Kidlington.

"He worked for a plastics factory in Wantage and liked doing mechanical work in his spare time," he said.

Mr Davies said: "I had a cup of tea with him just before he went out. It was a lovely day and he gave his bike a wipe over and said he was just going for a ride about.

"After a couple of hours we got a bit worried about him and eventually we found out about the accident from the police."

Mr MacKinnon said: "We've all shared a love of motorcycles for years. I don't know when the funeral will be but we will make sure we give him a good send-off."

Mr Jackson's friends left flowers and a card containing the message: "CJ - we will miss you, mate. Not a brother, but as good as a brother."

Mrs Ayres said she and her husband were good friends with motorcycle enthusiast Bob Penny, from Rose Hill, Oxford. Known as Harley Bob, he died last November from a heart attack, aged 54.

Richard Worth, the owner of Worth's garage, said an air ambulance landed behind the garage. He said: "It was a tragic accident."

Police accident investigators closed the road for three hours.

They are keen to speak to the driver of a gold Peugeot 206, who was not involved in the incident but was near the site at the time.

Between January 2005 and December last year, 29 motorcyclists were killed on Oxfordshire's roads and 209 seriously injured.

If you have any information, call Pc Richard Medway on 08458 5055505.