Czech driver Ales Loprais, the chief within the truck class of the Dakar Rally, stated on Wednesday he was “terribly sorry” after his car hit an Italian vacationer who subsequently died.
Loprais’s Praga truck struck the 69-year-old Italian man who was taking footage behind a sand dune throughout Tuesday’s ninth stage between Riyadh and Haradh in Saudi Arabia.
He died within the helicopter taking him to hospital, organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (AMO) stated in a press release, including it was investigating the accident.
The Czech information company CTK stated in a while Wednesday Loprais had give up the race.
“I would like to express my condolences to his family and friends. I’m terribly sorry and it will haunt me for the rest of my life,” Loprais stated in a video on his Fb web page.
Loprais, who turned 43 on the day of the accident, stated he had had no thought what had occurred on the time.
“The entire crew learnt about it when we went to bed and the commissioners came and told us they had a video recording of the accident,” he stated.
Loprais, whose uncle Karel Loprais received the Dakar Rally six occasions within the truck class, stated the sufferer suffered a coronary heart assault in the course of the journey to hospital “two or three hours after” the accident.
“So, a human life was wasted and I am to blame because I was driving,” stated Loprais.
Loprais, who was in search of his maiden victory after racing on the Dakar Rally since 2006, revealed a video of the accident on his Fb web page.
The rally ends on Sunday within the japanese Saudi metropolis of Dammam.
Held in Saudi Arabia for the fourth version in a row, the rally is raced largely in desert areas however however attracts spectators even when in far smaller numbers than when the race was held in Africa and Latin America.
