A British cameraman suffering severe dehydration fell off his motorbike and died while filming a bicycle race in America, an inquest heard.
Robert Llewelyn looked disorientated moments before he collapsed and suddenly died on the back of his bike, which was parked on the sidelines of the Amgen Tour of California, a Tour de France-style bicycle road race which he was filming.
A post-mortem revealed that the 51-year-old had been severely dehydrated at the time of his death.
Robert Llewelyn (pictured with his wife in their last photograph together before his death 18 days later) fell off his motorbike and died while filming a bike race in America, an inquest heard
However, evidence presented by witnesses and family members at the inquest in the UK showed that Mr Llewelyn had exhibited little or no symptoms of dehydration, such as nausea and fatigue, in the days that followed his arrival in Monterey.
His widow Lucy, who still lives at their home in Reading, Berkshire, told the inquest that he had been on a number of jobs in warm countries, including one in Delhi the same year and had not shown any such symptoms despite the warm temperatures.
She told the coroner Peter Bedford: ‘It really does not make any sense. We were told that Robert’s face had gone blank and that it looked like he was not breathing but not struggling to breathe.
‘At first they thought he was just choking but soon realised it must be something more serious than that.
‘I struggled to understand Dr Azar’s verdict of dehydration. There was nothing in the report that indicated he was prone to collapse.
‘There is no way he would have gotten up on his motorbike if he was feeling nauseous and dehydrated. As a family we assumed that Robert must have suffered some kind of heart failure.’
Mr Llewelyn (pictured) looked disorientated moments before he collapsed and suddenly died on the back of his bike, which was parked on the sidelines of the Amgen Tour of California
Following Mr Llewelyn’s death at Hurricane Point, Monterey on May 18 last year, Detective Alfred Martinez told the inquest: ‘Mr Llewelyn was involved in the media support for the bicycle race. He stopped and was not looking well and was acting disorientated.
‘He started to slump and fell to the ground. CPR and a defibrillator were administered but his life could not be saved and he was pronounced dead by paramedics.
‘I examined Mr Llewelyn from top to toe and I found no remarkable injuries.’
Despite the report given by Dr Azar, coroner Mr Bedford said he would not record Mr Llewelyn’s death as an accident due to severe dehydration, but instead as a natural death caused by a cardiac arrhythmia, which would not leave a trace in the man’s body after his death.
A coroner recorded the cause of death as natural causes sparked by cardiac arrhythmia. Mr Llewelyn is pictured with his wife Lucy
He did, however, believe the severe dehydration could have had a contributory effect to his death.
‘I reviewed all the documents which clearly indicate that Robert Llewelyn suffered a sudden collapse without any warning symptoms. The dehydration could have resulted in a sudden cardiac arrhythmia.
‘These do occur in patients with no history of cardiac arrhythmia, however usually in those at a younger age. However much we analyse it, there are still some gaps which we will never be able to fill.
‘The conclusion is a cardiac arrhythmia with a background of possible dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.
‘That is a natural cause of death.’