Crash kills Korean star cyclist
Chiang Mai training session ends in road death tragedy
A teenage South Korean cyclist with a glittering career ahead of him on the national team has been killed in an accident in Chiang Mai where he and his team had been training.
Mana Sukchasoen, the deputy superintendent of Mae Rim police station, said yesterday Eom Se-beom, 18, died after being hit by a pickup truck when he was riding at high speed on a road between Sameong and Mae Rim districts at 10am on Tuesday.
The police officer identified the pickup truck driver as Katanyu Kittitheerayan, 27. The front bumper on the same side as the driver’s seat was damaged, he added.
Police have questioned witnesses, collected evidence and tried to simulate the crash but they have been unable to determine precisely how the accident happened.
Pol Lt Col Mana asked other drivers who witnessed the incident to hand over video clips recorded by their dashcams to be used as evidence.
Yonhap news agency reported that Eom had disappeared out of view around a bend in the road from his coaches who were following him in a car.
Eom and other youth cyclists from South Korea had been training in Chiang Mai since Jan 18. A video clip posted on a Facebook account using the name Sasirin Pokpun showed rescue workers and other cyclists performing CPR on Eom.
The Korea Cycling Federation said the cyclist was pronounced dead in an ambulance on his way to hospital.
Eom won two gold medals at the Asian Junior Cycling Championship last October for South Korea, setting continental junior records in team and individual pursuit, according to Yonhap.
He was scheduled to receive the top rookie cyclist trophy in the high school division at the annual Korea Cycling Federation Awards on Feb 17, the news agency reported.