We already reported that an Italian spectator died during the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally. It was reported that at the time of the accident, the person was standing right behind the dune, as a result of which one of the participants ran over him. After the incident, the victim was in a serious condition, so a rescue helicopter arrived at the scene. Unfortunately, the viewer died of his injuries on the way to the hospital.
As it turned out later, this spectator was run over by Aleš Lopreis, the leader of the Dakar rally in the heavy car class, who only found out about it shortly before going to bed.
“Good evening to you from the bivouac. I have bad news for you,” he wrote on his social networks on Tuesday evening Ales Lopreis. “I found out about this incident when we returned from the ninth stage. We were about to go to bed when the Dakar rally marshals showed us a video recording of an accident where we accidentally hit someone who was taking pictures of our car behind a dune. And… he was injured.”
“After two or three hours he became nauseous and while being transported to the hospital he had a heart attack. One life has been lost, indirectly through my fault because I was driving the car. I must admit that neither I nor any of my team members didn’t know anything about it. We had onboard and other videos to prove it. But it doesn’t change anything because one person’s life was lost. A 69-year-old fan who came to see the Dakar rally was unfortunately standing behind the dune. But we didn’t find him we did not see. I would like to express my deepest condolences to his family, friends. I am very sorry. This accident will accompany me for the rest of my life.”
“The Czech athlete, who was shocked by this unfortunate incident, immediately supported the local authorities who carried out the investigation. Due to this result, he will not be able to continue the competition. The organizers of the rally join him in expressing their condolences to the family and friends of spectator Livio Sassinotti,” the organizers said in a statement.
Lopreis has been competing in the Dakar Rally since 2006, and this was the time when the Czech driver was close to his first victory in the Dakar Rally. So far, Lopreis’ best performance in the Dakar Rally was 3rd place.
The interview and the fatal moment of the accident:
