Driver breaks his cervical vertebra
Passer-by causes a serious accident on a tour of Turkey
4/12/2022, 6:36 p.m
A man runs in the middle of the route of the Tour of Turkey, a policeman hesitantly tries to help – then a part of the field crashes into both at full speed. A professional cyclist has to go to the hospital immediately with a broken cervical vertebra, and the passer-by is also injured.
The French professional cyclist Nacer Bouhanni fell badly on Monday on the 2nd stage of the Tour of Turkey and broke his first cervical vertebra. As his team Arkéa Samsic announced, the 31-year-old sprint specialist received medical treatment in the Izmir hospital. The three-time Vuelta stage winner is now to be flown to his home country for further treatment. The team had to continue Tuesday’s race with just five riders.
The Tour of Turkey was over for Bouhanni after the driver collided with a pedestrian on the track. In a video posted to Twitter, a man can be seen running on the track with his back to the oncoming peloton. Spectators on the sidewalk call out to him alarmingly. At first, a policeman just looks on – and only tries at the last second to pull the man off the street.
Passer probably physically handicapped
But it was too late: Mirco Maestri (Eolo-Kometa), who got between the passers-by and the police officers, fell first and sent both of them to the ground. Behind him, Bouhanni, teammate Kevin Ledanois and Manuel Peñalver (Burgos-BH) all fell badly. Bouhanni was put on a neck brace on the street before being taken to a nearby hospital. He is currently being treated in Izmir hospital but is expected to be returned to France soon for further medical treatment.
Burgos-BH confirmed Peñalver suffered a broken elbow which required surgery while Ledanois and Maestri were able to continue. The policeman was also injured, as were the organizers in one opinion communicate. The organizers also explain that the passer-by on the route was physically handicapped. The health status of the injured would be closely monitored and everyone wished a speedy recovery.
