Nicky Hayden (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) has been hit by a car this morning while training on his bicycle along the Rimini coastline, WorldSBK reports.

According to a report posted by the local news the accident occurred at 2pm local time. Hayden has been riding within a group of 14 bicycle riders. His injuries are life-threatening, according to ambulances and medics on site, and he has been transferred to a hospital in Rimini. He has suffered severe chest and head trauma.

At 18:00 some four hours after the accident, Rimini hospital staff announced that he’d been moved to the major trauma unit in Cesenate for possible surgery, with his condition at the time being referred to as ‘critical’.

The Police Commander of the district, Pierpaolo Marullo, has announced some details of the incident, 

“At 16:50, three hours after the accident, my men continue to gather evidence for the case, which we consider to be serious. When the officers arrived at the scene, the wounded man was still at the edge of the road, being stabilized by medical teams. He was then transferred to the Red Cross Hospital of Infermi di Rimini.

Our first study of the facts would appear to show that the blow has occurred with the right front tire of the car and that the cyclist involved was separate from the group at the time of the collision.” (Via: Motofire)