American motorcycle racer Nicky Hayden has died on 22 May 2017, five days after a car collided with his bicycle as he was bicycling along the Crimini coastline in Italy.
Bufalini Hospital in Cesena, where he was transferred after the crash, released the following statement:
The medical team has verified the death of the patient Nicholas Patrick Hayden, who has been undergoing care since last Wednesday May 17 in the intensive care unit of the Bufalini Hospital in Cesena following a very serious polytrauma which occurred the same day.
Hayden, a World Superbike Championship rider and 2006 MotoGP winner, skyrocketed to fame when he attained the premier class of the motorcycle road racing championship by the age of 21.
Hayden was in a coma for several days before finally succumbing to head and chest injuries. He was 35.
Hayden's death highlights the dangers of cycling on the roads of a region favored by athletes for its hills and scenery. German triathlete Julia Viellehner died on the same day in the same hospital from similar injuries. The 31-year-old cross-country champion was hit by a truck when cycling in the hills outside Forlì.
Hayden was also the target of a number of viral death hoaxes immediately after the crash, but the hospital did not officially confirm his death until 22 May 2017.