MotoGP champ, WSBK racer Hayden in coma after being struck by car

Nicky Hayden, the 35-year-old motorcycle racer nicknamed the Kentucky Kid, was training on the Rimini coastline in Italy on his bicycle when a Peugeot 206 convertible hit him. The high-speed crash on May 17 resulted in the car’s windshield being smashed, Hayden’s bicycle snapped in half, and Hayden rushed to the hospital.

The American 2006 MotoGP champion and WSBK racer from Owensboro, Kentucky sustained grave injuries from the collision and has been put on life support. Hayden suffers from brain damage and several fractures including a broken leg. Physicians are currently hesitant to perform surgery to reduce Hayden’s cerebral edema, due to his critical and unstable condition.

“Nicky Hayden’s clinical condition remains extremely critical. The young man, who is still in the intensive care unit of Cesena’s Bufalini hospital, has suffered a serious polytrauma with subsequent serious cerebral damage,” A hospital statement revealed. “The prognosis remains reserved.”’

“Following the incident, Nicky was treated on site by medical staff and then taken by ambulance to a hospital near Rimini for immediate treatment. Once Nicky’s condition was stabilized, he was transferred to Maurizio Bufalini Hospital in Cesena and remains in the hospital’s intensive care unit. We would like to thank everyone for their kind wishes and messages of support and the assistance of emergency and medical services. Once an official statement regarding Nicky’s condition is released by the hospital or Nicky’s family, a further update from the team will be issued,” Hayden’s Red Bull Honda WSBK team said in a statement.

“As well as having his fiancé Jackie by his side, Nicky has now been joined by his brother Tommy and mother Rose who arrived in Italy from the United States…”