A cyclist in his seventies was killed on Saturday afternoon in Lessines, Wallonia after being hit by a truck, SudInfo reports. The cyclist was killed instantly.
The Wallonia Picardy emergency services were alerted to the incident on Saturday, shortly before 14:00. The traffic accident occurred along the Chemin de la Terraque near Lessines, in the village of Papignies-Wannebecq.
The elderly cyclist was riding a mountain bike which was clipped by a hatchback van while both vehicles were travelling on a side lane of the Lessines bypass. When first aid arrived, the cyclist had already passed away from his injuries. Paramedics were unable to revive the patient. The victim is said to be local to the area.
“The circumstances of the accident have yet to be determined,” said Captain Eric Stasik from the Wallonia Picardy emergency services. A traffic expert from the public prosecutor’s office of Mons-Tournai has been assigned to the case.
The side road remained closed to traffic throughout the day. The Mayor of Lessines, Pascal De Handschutter, also came to the scene of the accident.
“I also went there to check that the place is not problematic in terms of road safety,” he said. “Sometimes a single accident is enough to reveal significant shortcomings. But it must be acknowledged that the signage at the site seems adequate and that no additional measures seem appropriate.”
