Nicky Hayden passes away 5 days after bicycle accident

Former Moto GP champion Nicky Hayden has passed away after suffering serious injuries in a bicycle accident in Italy. The 35-year-old rider was currently participating in the World Superbike championship under the Honda factory team.

Hayden was training on his bicycle near the Rimini coast in Italy where he was hit by a car. The rider ended up on the hood and slammed into the car's windshield. He was rushed to a local hospital that diagnosed him to have suffered serious head and chest injuries. The American rider was later rushed to the Bufalini hospital in Cesena. The hospital's medical bulletin released on Monday, May 22, announced Hayden's death due to severe cerebral damage and multiple traumatic injuries.

Hayden had joined the Repsol Honda Moto GP team in 2003 at the age of 21. In 2006, he won his maiden championship title after a season-long points battle with Valentino Rossi. He was also the most recent American to win the MotoGP world championship. He continued to participate in the Moto GP series till 2015, before shifting to the World Superbike Championship in 2016.

Source: Fox Sports