An inquest has been opened following the death of an Eden Valley man after a catastrophic quad biking incident on one of the Cape Verde islands.
Simon Davidson, 62, ran Penrith’s Corner Shop newsagents, in King Street, for many years with his wife, Brenda. Latterly he worked as a driver, delivering copies of our sister title, the Cumberland & Westmorland Herald newspaper.
Cockermouth Coroners’ Court heard this morning how Mr Davidson died in a Tenerife hospital on the evening of November 10 — eight days after his birthday.
This, noted area Cumbria coroner Kirsty Gomersal, followed a quad biking incident in the Cape Verde islands off the coast of West Africa.
Miss Gomersal told the brief hearing that she had been offered a cause of death by a doctor at that hospital. This was multiple injuries due to both fractures of vertebrae and spinal shock.
The coroner said: “Given that Mr Davidson’s death is not from natural causes, and in accordance with the circumstances briefly outlined to me, I am satisfied that an inquest is required into his death.”
Miss Gomersal exercised her legal discretion to suspend the inquest in order that enquiries could be made with the authorities abroad. No provisional inquest conclusion date has yet been set.
Mrs Davidson said he had been on a guided quad bike tour on Boa Vista — one of the Cape Verde islands — towards the end of an 11-night holiday. This four-hour tour was led by a young guide who took Mr Davidson and one of his friends up into dunes and, unexpectedly, over the top of a ridge.
Mr Davidson was third in line and followed the two others as they travelled over the ridge and fell out of sight to the ground below. In the fall, he landed head first on one of the two other overturned quad bikes. The man ahead had suffered severe arm and rib injuries.
Mr Davidson, a father-of-two who lived near Penrith, was taken to a local hospital and then flown to Tenerife where he was met by other family members. He sadly died after being admitted to an intensive care unit.
A celebration of his life was held on Friday at the Eden Valley Crematorium Chapel, Temple Sowerby.
