Round-The-World Cycling Quest Ends In Death On Thai Highway

[pdogg]

RIP Juan Francisco Guillermo.  

 

You have to admire a guy who takes on this sort of challenge.

 

Juan Francisco Guillermo, who was trying to cycle 250,000km in five years, was killed after being hit by truck in north-east Thailand, police said.

A Chilean cyclist’s attempt to set a record for biking around the world has ended with his death in a road accident in northeast Thailand police said on Sunday.

 

Juan Francisco Guillermo, 47, was hit by a pickup truck and immediately killed Saturday on a highway in Nakhon Ratchasima province.

 

According to police and accounts on social media, Guillermo was attempting to set a Guinness world record by cycling 250,000km (155,350 miles) on five continents in five years.

His journey started in November 2010 and was scheduled to end in November this year.

 

Guillermo’s wife was on another bicycle with their two-year-old son and suffered a slight sprain in the accident, said police Col Torsak Thammingmongkol. It was not clear how long they had accompanied Guillermo in his round-the-world cycling odyssey.

 

The driver of the pickup truck was arrested on a charge of causing death by dangerous driving and released on bail, said Torsak. The offense carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

 

“It was an accident caused by the driver’s recklessness. The road was straight and the cyclist was in his own lane,” the officer said.

The death comes as Thailand’s government is trying hard to promote bicycling for commuting, sport and tourism.

 

In February 2013, a British couple on a similar round-the-world quest was killed in a road accident in eastern Thailand.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/22/chileans-round-the-world-record-cycling-quest-ends-in-death-on-thai-highway

[SiamSam]

Very sad. He was so close to his goal. Tragedy.

[Pdoggg]

 

The truck driver who killed a round-the-world Chilean cyclist on a Korat highway has been sentenced to prison but won’t have to actually go to jail as the sentence was suspended.

 

Nakhon Ratchasima deputy commander Pol. Col. Wanat Atthakawin revealed Monday the province's Bua Yai court sentenced truck driver Thiwarat Chaipidet, 64, to a year of jail term and THB7,500 fine for his reckless driving. The original fine and two-year sentence were halved because he confessed.

 

Guillermo was on a five-year mission to cycle 250,000 kilometers across five continents and set a Guinness World Record. He was eight months from finishing when Thiwarat’s truck swerved into his lane and struck him on Feb. 21 in front of his wife and 2-year-old son, who were also injured.

 

His Singaporean wife Ng-Poh Leng, 40, and their son currently reside in Khon Kaen as the case will proceed to Civil Court. The family is still negotiating compensation with Thiwarat's insurance agency.

 

However, Col. Wanat said the driver has offered THB100,000 of his own money to the family. Ng-Poh Leng also showed sympathy to the driver who could barely afford the money.

 

Ng-Poh Leng plans to take her son back to Singapore after the proceedings are over, Manager reported.

http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2015/05/13/truck-driver-who-killed-chilean-cyclist-gets-goes-free

[Trenton42]

Thai justice has been served.