only speculate yesterday as to the cause of his fatal bike accident in January.

P.c. Pythagoras Santiago said Cummings was estimated to be driving his blue Yamaha V80 at 36 km when it struck a Bermuda Electric Light Company pole on Ord Road last January.

The bike then hit the curb before the victim apparently lost control and slid into the centre of the road, he said.

No other vehicles were involved in the accident.

P.c. Santiago testified that friends who saw Cummings drinking that evening said he was not drunk when he got on his bike to go home after a party.

A Police report by Inspector Roger Kendall indicated that the road was dry and in good repair and the victim's bike was in reasonably good condition prior to the accident.

An accountant for Graham Kempe Price Waterhouse, a colleague of the victim, said she met Cummings and other friends for drinks at Flanagan's Irish Pub on Front Street on the evening of January 22.

Colleen Brennan said she saw Cummings have one beer before they left for a party at the nurses' residence in Paget.

She said the last time she saw him was in the parking lot before he left at 1.50 a.m.

"I have no idea how much he drank there but he did not appear drunk,'' she said. "He appeared fine. He did not abuse alcohol and if he wanted to drive home, I would not doubt his ability to do so.'' Cummings was discovered three hours later lying on his back near the Ord Road Grocery, just minutes from his home at Glenwood Park Crescent, Warwick.

Two men in a car found Cummings still breathing and called for help after lifting his bike off his body.

Consultant anaesthetist at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital Dr. Andrew Spence said Cummings was pronounced brain dead on January 24. A life support machine was disconnected after his family arrived from England to pay their last respects on January 25.

His death was caused by severe brain injuries resulting from a complex fracture at the base of his skull, pathologist Dr. John Winwich told the court yesterday.

Senior Magistrate the Wor. Cheryl-Ann Mapp recorded a verdict of accidental death.

She extended her deepest condolences to the friends and family of the deceased, who were represented in court by Cummings' former employer Mr. Peter Watson.