Motorcyclist Dies In Second Fatal Dakar Rally-Related Crash This Week

We have more unfortunate news to report from the 2013 Dakar Rally as a French motorcycle competitor was killed earlier this morning in Chile after he crashed into a police car.

CNN reports that the rider, 25-year-old Thomas Bourgin, was on his way to begin the seventh stage around 8:30 a.m. local time when he collided with a Chilean police vehicle that was traveling in the opposite direction. News reports say Bourgin wasn't killed competing in the race itself, but was going to start the stage of the race between Calama, on the Chilean side of the Andes, to Argentina.

Still, Bourgin is now the third person to die this week in connection with the race, and the second to collide with a vehicle not involved in the competition. As we reported yesterday, two people in a taxi cab were killed when their car was struck by a rally support vehicle in Peru.

Bourgin — pictured above at right in an AP photo from Jan. 5 — was a native of Saint Etienne. He was in 68th place in this, his first attempt at the Dakar Rally. More than 50 people have been killed since the inaugural Paris to Dakar race in 1978.

Photo credit AP