Former MotoGP Wold champion Nicky Hayden dead at 35 after being struck by car while cycling in Italy.
The American, has suffered serious trauma with severe brain damage.
MotoGP Legend and Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team rider Hayden was involved in a training accident whilst cycling in Italy, emergency services were immediately called to the scene and Hayden was transported to local hospital.
The American superstar was hit by a car whilst out cycling along the Rimini coast, where he has been spending some time following the recent Motul Italian Round of WorldSBK.
The 2006 MotoGP Wold Champion, had been held in the Intensive Care unit of the Cesena hospital since then and a statement released on Friday May 19 confirmed the 35-year-old had suffered serious polytrauma with "serious cerebral damage" and was subsequently placed into a medically induced coma.
The statement said: "The medical college has confirmed the death of the patient Nicholas Patrick Hayden, recovering from Wednesday May 17 in a hospital intensive care unit of Cesena Bufalini as a result of serious multiple injuries occurred on that date."
Nicholas "Nicky" Patrick Hayden (Born in Owensboro, Kentucky, U.S. July 30, 1981), nicknamed. The Kentucky Kid,
For 2006, Hayden was charged with spearheading Repsol Honda's championship aspirations, and was the only rider to be handed the full 2006 Honda bike during pre-season testing. He led the championship from the third race and looked set to break Valentino Rossi's championship-winning streak. In the second to last round at Estoril in Portugal, teammate Dani Pedrosa lost the front-end on the brakes (a lowside) to avoid colliding with Hayden. The resulting lowside accident took out both bikes. This left Hayden eight points behind Rossi in the championship with one race left to go. In the last race of the season on October 29, 2006 Rossi crashed on lap 5 trying to make up for a poor start. Hayden won the 2006 title that day by finishing 3rd And become the MotoGP World Championship in 2006.