An inquest held in October 2016 heard that Sean Hickey swerved across the central line of the carriageway into a slow-moving oncoming vehicle while riding at 22mph. The reason for this swerve was not established: one theory was that he intended to overtake slowing vehicles in front of him, while another was that he swerved as a result of a medical episode (a post mortem found evidence of a coronary thrombosis which gave credence to this latter theory).
Assistant coroner Nigel Parsley recorded a verdict of death by traffic collision.