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A motorist who took his own life after fatally striking a motorcyclist on an M25 motorway slip road near Orpington should have been wearing corrective glasses behind the wheel, an inquest has formally concluded. Anthony Laskier, a 69-year-old retired insurance broker affectionately known as Tony, died on the evening of 17 December after a Ford Transit van collided with his motorcycle from behind and drove over him at a roundabout off Junction 4. The van was driven by 70-year-old William Harvey, who struggled to cope following the collision and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound a month later, just hours before Kent Police were scheduled to formally interview him regarding criminal driving charges.
Proceedings conducted before Coroner Venessa Holt at Oakwood House in Maidstone revealed that Mr Laskier was entirely blameless in the fatal collision. Evidence presented by Detective Constable Victoria Steward detailed how Mr Laskier, an experienced motorcyclist wearing high-visibility protective gear, had come to a stop in traffic on the southbound slip road leading from the Dartford Crossing to Junction 4 when the crash occurred at approximately 4:45pm. Mr Harvey approached the roundabout at an estimated speed of 17mph without stopping, impacting the rear of the stationary motorcycle. The force of the collision unseated the 69-year-old grandfather, trapping him beneath the vehicle as the van continued forward for another 40 metres.
Attending paramedics, highways officers, and members of the public rushed to assist Mr Laskier, who remained pinned beneath the van for 20 minutes before crews from Kent Fire and Rescue Service successfully freed him. Despite extensive medical intervention at the scene, he succumbed to catastrophic injuries to his chest, neck, and head. The vital motorway interchange remained completely shut for over 11 hours while forensic collision investigators documented the scene.
When questioned at the roadside, attending officers described Mr Harvey as emotional and apologetic, complaining that he could not see well. Officers administered an immediate roadside eyesight test, which revealed he was entirely unable to read a standard vehicle number plate from the legally mandated distance of 20 metres. DC Steward confirmed to the court that Mr Harvey was required to wear prescription glasses to drive, but was not wearing them at the time of the fatal impact.
The inquest was told that collision investigators believed Mr Harvey was either distracted or looking exclusively to his right for oncoming traffic on the roundabout, causing him to fail to see the stationary motorcyclist directly ahead. Kent Police had prepared an evidentiary file intended for the Crown Prosecution Service to consider formal charges of causing death by dangerous driving or careless driving.
Those statutory proceedings were never brought to court. On the morning of 20 January, the day he was due to attend a formal police station interview under caution, Mr Harvey was discovered dead inside the garage of his residential property on Southfleet Road in Bean, near Dartford. An inquest subsequently determined that his death was caused by self-inflicted gunshot injuries after he experienced severe psychological distress following the crash. Coroner Holt recorded a formal conclusion of road traffic collision in relation to Mr Laskier.
The dual loss has left the Laskier family navigating profound bereavement alongside empathy for the driver's relatives. Anthony Laskier had been married to his wife, Debbie Laskier, for 36 years after the pair first met on holiday four decades ago. Having retired from the insurance industry just 14 months before the collision, he was remembered by relatives as a devoted, hands-on family man who regularly surprised his wife with cooked meals and celebrations, with the couple having planned extensive retirement holidays. On the morning of the tragedy, his wife had left for work, unaware it would mark their final conversation.
Speaking to journalists, Debbie Laskier described the incident as the tragic and unnecessary loss of two lives, noting that while she felt deep distress that her husband's killer could not face justice in court, she felt genuine sympathy for Mr Harvey's widow. Anthony Laskier is survived by his wife, his two adult daughters, 34-year-old Rebecca and 32-year-old Victoria, his grandchildren, and his three siblings, two brothers and a sister. A family tribute entered into the formal record described him as a cherished husband, father, grandfather, and brother whose kindness and laughter touched everyone who knew him.
