A PAIR of boasting workmates who followed each other at speeds of almost 100 mph on their way home from work have been jailed after one lost control and killed a motorcyclist.

Ashley Mace was following his friend Martin Rogers on the road from Crediton to Exeter when he lost control of his Mondeo and drove straight into the path of rider Danielek Adametz, who was on his own side of the road.

His motorbike disintegrated as a result of the high speed impact and rescuers found his body alongside the wreckage at the side of the road.

Rogers, who had been just yards ahead of Mace in a red Peugeot Rally car, was seen grinning by a passing driver moments before the crash and later told his boss they had been doing 100 mph and said “we went for it”.

Mr Adametz, aged 22, was an engineering student who was riding perfectly lawfully on his way home to Crediton and who had no chance to avoid the crash which happened around 6pm on May 7, 2020.

His family wrote a moving victim personal statement to Exeter Crown Court which told how deeply they have all been affected by his loss.

They said at the time that “our hearts have been broken into a million pieces”.

Mace and Rogers both worked at Rota Wheels in Crediton where workmates often heard them boasting about the speed and power of their cars. 

One had refused to drive with Mace again after being given a lift to work with him.

They were said to be “overtly boastful” about their driving and had left work at the same time on the night of the crash with the intention of driving them to Exeter.

They were just 0.3 seconds apart and going at speeds estimated between 80 and 100 mph when they passed a bus in the 40 mph section of the road on the edge of Crediton.

Drivers heading in the other direction were shocked by their speed and one said they were “an accident waiting to happen”.

The crash happened when Mace, who was following Rogers, failed to negotiate a bend and went onto the wrong side of the road and straight into Mr Adametz’s path.

Mace, aged 29, of Hillyfield Road, Exeter, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and Rogers, 35, of Threshers Terrace, Crediton, admitted dangerous driving.

Mace was jailed for five years and banned from driving for seven years and Rogers was jailed for 10 months and banned from driving for five years by Judge Stephen Climie at Exeter Crown Court.   Both will have to take extended re-tests.

The judge told them: “Mr Adametz was 22 and a much loved son, brother, and friend. He was a lover of football, he studied engineering and was a great lover of nature in all its forms.

“He also had a passion for motorcycles and tragically was riding his own bike when the two of you, and I emphasise the two of you, were collectively responsible for his death.

“You are men of otherwise good character but in the background the evidence suggests very strongly that you not only had an enthusiasm for cars and driving but an irresponsible attitude when you drove on public roads.

“Driving privately at high speeds on race tracks and putting your own lives at risk is one thing, but driving at speeds close to twice the limit is something very different on public roads.

“That day you were on a single carriageway main road. I am satisfied that the two of you had discussed not racing, but making your way in tandem at speed along that stretch of carriageway.

“Rogers, you were in front and Mace behind and for some reason you ended up losing control and you had a massively high impact collision with Mr Adametz on his motorcycle.

“He was a wholly innocent, decent man whose life and future were erased in that fateful moment. The consequences live on for his family and nothing I can say will change the tragic outcome.

“From their perspective, no doubt any sentence would not be long enough.”

Mr Rowan Jenkins, prosecuting, said colleagues at Rota Wheels had heard the two men discussing their cars many times and some had seen them driving very fast in the past.

He said: “The crown’s case is that they were overtly boastful about their driving and their willingness to show off to other road users.”

He said the men were captured on the CCTV on a bus shortly before they crossed from the 40 to the 60 mph zone on the way out of Crediton.

It showed Rogers going at 89 to 101 mph and Mace just 0.3 seconds behind doing 81-93 mph.

The crash happened shortly afterwards near Hookway and Rogers phoned his boss and a colleague, telling them they “went for it” and had been doing 100 mph before the crash.

Miss Hollie Gilbery, for Mace, said no drugs or alcohol were involved in the accident and the two men had not been racing. She said he was a hard working man who never been in trouble before.

He is truly remorseful and wants to apologise to the deceased’s family.

Mr Adrian Chaplin, for Rogers, said he is also remorseful and accepts that grossly excessive speed contributed to the tragedy. He is also a hard working man who has no convictions.