‘There will never be a nother Johnny’: John Leary dies in Howard Springs motorbike crash

‘I got a male friend that age with a 1000cc motorbike and I can’t get a hold of him,’ Jade Walters wrote on Facebook following a fatal crash. Soon her worst fears would be confirmed.

Avid motorcyclist John Leary was killed while riding his bike in Howard Springs on Wednesday night.

A man killed in a horror motorcycle crash in Howard Springs on Wednesday has been remembered for his “cheeky smile” and love of riding his “pride and joy”.

Police say 31-year-old John Leary died after attempting to overtake a vehicle at high speed and failing to navigate the corner on Whitewood Road near the Howard Springs intersection.

Long-time friend Jade Walters said Mr Leary would “forever be in my heart” after she learned the news of his death via a Facebook post.

Ms Walters said Mr Leary “certainly lived life in the fast lane” and there would “never be another Johnny, that’s for sure”.

Ms Walters said she had been friends with the labourer and machine operator for 20 years, saying he loved gemstones and gifted her son some from his personal collection just a few weeks ago.

“He was always there if you needed a friend, someone to lean on in hard times, someone you could talk to,” she said.

“He would listen and give advice without judgement, he was a genuine man.”

Ms Walters said she learned the tragic news on Facebook after the crash was reported on the NT Police and Fire Emergency Services page.

“I got a male friend that age with a 1000cc motorbike and I can’t get a hold of him,” she wrote before her worst fears were confirmed by a mutual friend.