A coroner has ruled that cyclist Stephen Leroy Dill died in September 1999 in a single-vehicle accident "while very much under the influence of alcohol''.

And Coroner Will Francis explained to Mr. Dill's sister, Katherine Landy, that while she may have been told in the accident's aftermath that her brother had a heart attack, the evidence was clear he was impaired.

A dock worker, Mr. Dill, 59, of North Shore Road, Devonshire, died shortly after arriving at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital via ambulance.

Doctors worked feverishly to revive him but bleeding within his skull became too much to handle.

An autopsy report noted bruises to Mr. Dill's head and heart and artery disease. He was the sixth road fatality of 1999.

Government Analyst Christine Quigley reported that Mr. Dill was more than three times over the legal limit which is "high'' for the average person.

Mr. Dill was found to have a blood alcohol level of 267 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood.

"That level is high,'' she told Mr. Francis. "For the average person there would be much loss of coordination and sensory perception and they would be approaching unconsciousness.'' Nearly identical levels of alcohol in his blood and urine indicated that Mr.

Dill had been drinking "quite recently'' before the accident, Ms Quigley said.

Lifelong friend Granville Payne told Police he regretted being unable "to get through'' to Mr. Dill that night that he should not ride the cycle.

He told of struggling with Mr. Dill to get the keys and said he was "upset'' at not stopping him from riding.

The only witness to the accident Anthony Foggo said he saw Mr. Dill riding down Palmetto Road near Barker's Hill when he saw the cycle swerve and the rider's head slam into a sidewalk.

By the time he got to the injured man he was unresponsive and he called the Police.

"I saw the headlight wobbling and then it swerved,'' Mr. Foggo said. "He was not going very fast. I saw the helmet come off and roll about 20 feet from the man. My mind focussed on the individual and I stopped.'' When Mrs. Landy questioned why for 13 months she had been misled to believe her brother had a heart attack, Mr. Francis said: "This is an official inquiry. What I say is how he died.'' When she apologised, Mr. Francis added: "No, that's quite all right. I understand perfectly well and you and your family have my sympathy.

"You've heard from the pathologist that things were wrong with him as happens with all of us when we get old,'' he explained. "But it's the pathologist who really understands these things.'' Mr. Francis concluded: "And he determined that what caused his death is the damage to his head which caused bleeding to his brain.''