Lewis Baker, 35, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison and a 10-year driving ban for dangerous driving that resulted in the death of his brother-in-law, Jason Wallis, 31. The crash occurred on September 9, 2023, on the A421 when both men, riding identical Yamaha R1 motorcycles, attempted to overtake a car.
Terrifying footage captured Baker, a mechanic, reaching speeds up to 178 mph on public roads. The prosecution stated that the pair used "flipping" number plates, designed to rotate and conceal their license plates from speed cameras. The court heard that Baker's GoPro recorded the moment they collided with the car they were attempting to pass, with Baker himself admitting to driving like a "menace."
During the incident, Wallis was attempting to undertake the car while Baker was trying to overtake it. Baker sustained a fractured thigh bone in the crash. The footage also shows Baker performing wheelies at 106 mph on the wrong side of the road and running a red light at 123 mph. He was also observed overtaking into oncoming traffic over double white lines and navigating tight gaps between other vehicles.
Judge Jonathan Cooper emphasized that high speeds are appropriate for race tracks, not public roads, stating, "You both rode in exactly the same fashion - as bad as it could be." Baker, from Milton Keynes, had no prior speeding convictions and appeared to have a clean license, leading the judge to question if the number plate flipping had masked previous offenses.
In an interview with police, Baker indicated he had ridden in a similar dangerous manner "100 times before." He had previously been cleared of causing Wallis's death by dangerous driving, as the court ruled that neither rider's actions were influencing the other's at the time of the fatal collision.
Wallis, an engineer for Nissan, was described by his widow, Nikki Baker (Lewis Baker's sister), as an "experienced motorcyclist" but also "an accident waiting to happen." Senior police investigator Philip Hanham of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit called Baker's driving "appalling" and "the worst I have seen on a motorbike in all my 30 years as a police officer and investigator," adding that Baker showed "total disregard to the law or to other road users safety." Hanham also noted that Baker was filming his dangerous driving with the intention of sharing it, demonstrating a clear intent to ride in that manner.
The second-highest speed recorded for a convicted dangerous motorcyclist in the UK is believed to be Adam Campion, who was jailed for 21 months in 2018 for riding at 189 mph on a stolen bike. Campion, like Baker, was convicted partly due to footage he recorded himself.