Czech driver Ales Loprais, the leader in the truck category of the Dakar Rally, said Wednesday he was “terribly sorry” after his vehicle hit an Italian tourist who subsequently died.

Loprais’s Praga truck struck the 69-year-old Italian man who was taking pictures behind a sand dune during Tuesday’s ninth stage between Riyadh and Haradh in Saudi Arabia.

He died in the helicopter taking him to hospital, organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (AMO) said in a statement, adding it was investigating the accident.

More details on SportsDesk. 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.