Families want Seaford’s Frankston City Motorcycle Park to be made safer after two tragedies
THE families of a man who was killed and another left a paraplegic after separate accidents at Frankston City Motorcycle Park want the track made safer before it’s reopened.
South East
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TWO families struggling with tragedies that happened at Frankston City Motorcycle Park want the main track to be made safe so no other families have to go through the same trauma.
Katie Edlington, whose husband, Danny, 25, was killed on April 4, and Adam Greenough, whose stepson Bodie Tattam, 21, was left a paraplegic after an accident last June, said the Seaford track had to be safe before being reopened.
“I want it to be opened, but I want it to be safe,” Mrs Edlington said.
She recalled the day she travelled from Bairnsdale to the motocross park for the first time with her husband of 18 months and their infant son Tate.
Friends had recommended the track to Danny, a self-employed spray painter and panel beater, getting back into motocross riding after a break from the sport. But he quickly came across issues with it.
“After he went out the first time, he told me the jumps were really big,” Mrs Edlington said. “He was concerned about that a little bit.”
It is believed Mr Edlington fell off his bike after going over a jump before he was hit by another bike. He suffered head injuries, then went into cardiac arrest and died.
Mrs Edlington is still coming to terms with the tragedy as she does her best to raise their son alone. “He was a good dad,” she said of Danny. “He was very hands-on.”
Bodie Tattam suffered life-changing injuries after colliding with another rider at the track last June. He will spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
His stepfather decided to share their story after a stoush broke out between Frankston Council and the volunteer committee that managed the facility after council indefinitely closed the track and did not renew the club’s lease.
Mr Greenough said Bodie, who was an apprentice plumber at the time, was an experienced rider.
“He rode at B Grade state level. He was an accredited Motocross Australia coach who coached junior riders,” he said.
The impact on the family has been devastating: “To see Bodie go from a kid who could not sit still ... to have all the medical issues he will have to deal with for the rest of his life (is shattering).
“He is a great kid, he was more concerned about the other rider (in the accident) and he wanted to express that in no way was that kid responsible.”
Bodie had to give up his apprenticeship and is focusing on his rehabilitation.
Mr Greenough said Mr Edlington’s accident brought up a lot of distressing memories and he hoped all safety measures were in place before the track was reopened.
Council has indicated it wants Motorcycling Victoria to run the facility. It has set up a transition committee headed by deputy mayor Glenn Aitken.
Cr Aitken told the Leader: “It won’t be opened until it’s safe.”