A 34-year-old Filipino man who became the 13th person this year to die on Bermuda?s roads was a father of two who had been on the Island less than a year.

Guest worker Ricardo Evangelista is thought to have been visiting a cousin who lived in Dockyard when the motorbike he was riding crashed into a utility pole early on Saturday morning.

Workers at the Ice Queen in Paget were shocked when they heard that their popular colleague had died as a result of head injuries he suffered in the collision, which happened at around 7 a.m.

Mr. Evangelista was from the Philippines and that is where his family and two young children still live.

For the past seven months he has been working at the Ice Queen, where senior assistant manager Amit Bhatnagar said: ?He was a lively person, very nice to work with.

?He would not laze around but always kept himself busy. And he was very friendly.?

Mr Bhatnagar added: ?He was very enthusiastic about learning new things.?

Mr. Evangelista was thought to have been travelling north on Cochrane Road in Sandys, near the junction with Malabar Road, when he collided with the utility pole.

No other vehicle is thought to have been involved.

The 34 year old was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital but was pronounced dead at 7.55 a.m. the same day.

The latest fatality means 2005 is now the second worst year on record for fatal accidents on Bermuda?s roads, only 1998 was worse when 17 people died.

In 2004 there were seven fatalities.

It is not thought that Mr. Evangelista, who lived in Warwick, has any other relatives in the Island other than his cousin at Dockyard.

His former manager Mr. Bhatnagar said: ?He has been here for seven months and done a good job.

?Ricardo was such a strong person. We are all in shock at the news. When we first heard about it we though it couldn?t be true.?