[FireFlyGuts]

A motorcyclist who filmed his best friend at speeds of over 170mph and caught his horrific road death on camera has walked free from court.

With a camera strapped to his motorbike Fred Bowden followed Andrew Prowse as the pair broke the speed limit 30 times in just 20 minutes.

Bowden was still filming after 25 miles when his friend clipped a car with his Kawasaki ZX10R and was thrown under an oncoming camper van. Mr Prowse, 46, was decapitated and died instantly.

Flying wreckage from Bowden's motorcycle knocked Bowden off his own matching 1,000cc machine.

It later emerged that Bowden had been clocked during the chase on July 12 last year at a top speed of 156mph - but his speedometer had reached speeds of 170mph, Truro Crown Court heard.

The court was told that Bowden was caught speeding 30 times - riding 70mph in a 40mph limit, 100mph in a 60mph limit and 124mph in a 70mph limit.

Bowden, a 42-year-old father-of-four from Helston, Cornwall, had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving but today escaped a jail term.

He was given a 51-week jail sentence suspended for two years, fined £190 and disqualified from driving for three years.

The prison sentence was suspended after the dead man's family asked the court to show lenience because he and Bowden had been close friends.

Sidney and Daphne Prowse said: 'What happened was not his fault. He is a man who would do anything for anyone. He is an extremely good man.'

Judge Christopher Elwen told him: 'This wild ride came to an end with the tragic death of your long-time and close friend Andrew Prowse.

'What has been seen on the video was a prolonged course of dangerous driving with grossly high speeds and inappropriate overtaking.

'Motorists were alarmed and afraid for their lives. You will have to live with this for the rest of your life.

'In view of exceptionally powerful mitigation I will suspend the prison term for two years.'

Bowden, a car mechanic, had intended to take his son for a ride that day but Mr Prowse, his friend since school, arrived at his house and suggested they go for a ride.

Mr Prowse, also of Helston, then fitted his video camera to Bowden's petrol tank and the pair raced along the A30 in Tolvaddon, Camborne.

One witness told his passenger as they were overtaken by the speeding pair: 'Those idiots are going to die if they carry on driving like that'.

Minutes later Mr Prowse overtook a Ford Mondeo at 100mph, clipped a hatchback and was thrown under a van.

In a horrific scene inadvertently caught on camera by Bowden, he became 'tangled up' in the vehicle's wheels and his legs and head were torn off.

Off-duty St Ives policeman James Gallienne found a scene of 'blood and unrecognisable body parts' and immediately called 999, the court heard.

The officer told a previous hearing: 'I could see a small video camera mounted on the fuel tank of the black bike - I could see it was still running.'

At an inquest into Mr Prowse's death, the couple driving the camper van, Michael and Julia Clements, said they were 'traumatised' by the accident.

Mr Clements, an artist, said: 'That scene will stay with me for the rest of my life.'

Defending Bowden, Robert Linford said: 'Nobody can punish him as much as he has punished himself.
They had ridden together a lot.

'Mr Prowse was known to the defendant since their school days. They were best friend and their family were close.

[omg!!]

where did u find this? I searched everywhere for it. I heard the guy got decapitated n his legs ripped off.

[SJ]

Okay, wait here. After he hit the car, did the truck hit him as well? A wee bit too dusty for me to see clearly.

[omg!!]

Originally Posted by SpadedJoker ↗

Okay, wait here. After he hit the car, did the truck hit him as well? A wee bit too dusty for me to see clearly.

He clipped a car, which sent him into the path of a campervan, he was decapitated, his name was andrew prowse. The guy who filmed it has just been banned for 3 years.

[kellyhound]

Stupid speeding assholes endangering other people's lives.
He paid the price for his stupidity.

[BFT]

lesson learned...

[priman]

Was it the first car's fault? Looks like he did a very unexpected turn... but he was speeding and drove over the linem so yeye

[ZILLA]

The article said 170mph should that have been,kph?
I wondering,would they measure the distance between his body and his head in standard mesurements or metric?

[Marcusbr]

never liked bikers anyway

[juliemd]

people who speed on motorcycles should read this and watch that video. maybe it would slow some of the freaks down.