Footage of Johnny 'Danger' Bennett's final ride captured on camera
Thursday, 26 April 2018
A fellow biker appears to have captured on video the events from moments before Johnny 'Danger' Bennett died in a bike crash in Auckland on Wednesday.
Video provided to Stuff by friend Carl King shows an unidentified biker and a number of other riders heading up the Dairy Flat Highway, just short of where Danger's bike crashed.
The social media star and self-described 'amateur stuntman' died in a motorbike crash in north Auckland on Wednesday afternoon.
Emergency services were called to a single-vehicle crash on Dairy Flat Highway around 2.30pm on Wednesday.
**READ MORE:
* Johnny Danger Bennett crash: He called her 'mama bear', she called him son
* Social media star Johnny Danger Bennett dies
* Tributes flow for Johnny 'Danger' Bennett**
Bennett was on an Anzac Day ride with Wolfpack Incorporated, an organisation that raffles bikes to raise money for charity, when he died.
Wolfpack spokesman Gareth Williams, who attempted CPR on Bennett, said he was shocked and 'devastated'.
Bennett was 'hugely supportive' of the organisation, and had offered to help raise funds for mental health and prostate cancer charities, he said.
Bennett had a 'huge heart,' he said: 'Johnny was a friend and he will be deeply missed. We had a lot of laughs together and still can't believe what's happened.'
Those who knew him, knew Bennett loved riding and having a laugh, he said.
Williams said he keeps replaying the scene over and over in his head.
'As the shock of situation began to set in everyone on site that was involved did everything possible and I would like to give those involved full credit to that and the response from the ambulance was fast also.
'Unfortunately, after the ambulance and other services arrived we had been informed he didn't pull through… ride hard to your next destination Danger - we will see you soon.'
Details of exactly what happened to cause the crash were still hazy.
A witness who was involved in the ride said the group of riders Danger was with were 'riding like maniacs' heading out of Auckland on their way to their first stop, the Albany Tavern..
The pace was so fast she decided not to bother going with the group on the way to the next stop, The Riverhead Tavern.
She did not witness the crash but said she only needed to hear the ambulance to know what had happened.
'It's very sad but speed kills is the motto here,' she said.
Police have not yet commented on the possible cause of the crash.
A witness, who did not want to be named, said 'I got to a point where everyone was signalling to stop because a guy had come off, so I went over to help,'
'When I got to him he was unconscious and bleeding.'
Emergency crews worked at the scene of the crash for several hours to recover the motorbike, which had gone down a steep ditch.
BENNETT DIED DAYS BEFORE SISTER'S 21ST
Brother Wayne Bennett posted on Facebook on Wednesday night confirming his death and thanking the public for their support.
'Thanks everyone for your support in these tough times. If you haven't heard by now my brother Johnny Danger Bennett passed away today on his Harley doing what he loved doing,' he wrote.
The family had planned a Thailand trip in a few days for their sister's birthday. That trip would go ahead, but would also now celebrate Bennett's life.
Wayne Bennett said it was what his brother 'would want us to do'.
The family would also hold a memorial in a few weeks, 'when we can find a venue big enough to accommodate everyone,' he wrote.
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the video was taken by Danger himself.