A Devonshire family is today coming to terms with the loss of 18-year-old Ryan Burgess who become the first road fatality of 2006 after the motorbike he was riding left the road and collided with a tree on a lonely road in Devonshire.

The crash happened during the hours of darkness either late on Thursday night or in the early hours of Friday morning on Parsons Road, near the Ocean View Golf Club. Mr. Burgess? family were too distressed to talk to yesterday and wanted to wait for all close relatives to be told the news before paying tributes to the 18-year-old.

A passer-by raised the alarm after spotting him in an unresponsive state lying by the side of the road with the badly damaged red Yamaha motorbike tossed onto its front wheel and resting against undergrowth nearby.

As Police began their investigation into the crash yesterday they were treating it as a suspected single vehicle accident, but they are appealing for any witnesses to the incident, particularly any motorists who may have travelled along Parsons Lane between 10 p.m. on Thursday and 7 a.m. yesterday, or anyone with information to contact P.c. Shantia Furbert on 299-4265 or 295-0011.

Police investigators were called to the scene shortly after 7 a.m. yesterday and an on-call physician pronounced the victim dead at the scene.

Initial evidence seems to indicate that Mr. Burgess was riding east along Parsons Lane when he lost control on a slight left-hand bend and collided with a tree, said Police spokesman Robin Simmons.

?It was a member of the public who discovered the scene. And it appears it may have happened last night,? said Mr. Simmons.

Accident investigators took measurements of the road and the bike?s position to gain a clearer picture of what might have happened. The Yamaha motorbike was also impounded by Police. Among scattered personal items gathered by officers at the scene was a black shoe belonging to the teenager.

There are no houses along the stretch of road where the crash occurred and the road is bordered by trees and undergrowth on both sides.

On December 10 guest worker Ricardo Evangelista, 34, became 2005?s 13th road victim after his motorbike crashed into a utility pole in Cochrane Road, Sandys.

Last year saw the highest number of road deaths since 1998.