Tragedy on the Hochstein: 36-year-old mountain bike driver dies after falling

Tragedy on the Hochstein: 36-year-old mountain bike driver dies after falling

On May 21, 2025, a tragic accident occurred on the mountain bike trail "Family Flow Trail" in the municipal area of Lienz. A 36-year-old Austrian fell during a departure for unknown reasons and suffered serious head injuries, where he died a little later in the hospital, as 5min.at reports.

The accident occurred at an altitude of around 950 meters around 6:00 p.m. Two local boys aged 11 and 12 discovered the accident cyclist and immediately informed the father of one of the boys. The latter went to the scene of the accident, noticed any signs of life and put an emergency call before he started resuscitation of the injured person.

rescue measures and hospital stays

The alarmed rescue workers of the Lienz mountain rescue and the alpine police took over the life -saving measures. The man was transported to the Lienz Hospital with the emergency medical helicopter "C7", where he died despite the intensive efforts of the doctors due to his serious injuries. The Innsbruck public prosecutor has ordered an autopsy of the accident to clarify the exact circumstances of the incident. A corresponding report will be forwarded to the responsible bodies after the investigation has been completed, according to meinzimzirk.at.

The recent incident is part of a worrying statistics: According to data, the number of mountain bike accidents in Austria has been three times the number of mountain bike accidents in Austria in the past ten years. In Tyrol, the location of the tragic incident, the number of accidents has more than quadrupled. There is a clear connection between the increase in recreational athletes and the increasing number of injuries.

accident prevention measures

In order to avoid future accidents, the Austrian and Bavarian Board of Trustees for Alpine Safety are implementing preventive measures. An online campaign is intended to sensitize hobby cyclists through accident avoidance. Statistically speaking, 81% of the accidents happened when driving downhill, often on driving or forest paths. The majority of the injuries concern the shoulder and collarbone area, while 13% of the injuries are head injuries, such as the data.

The latest developments are calling for an intensive examination of the security aspects of mountain biking in order to prevent such tragic accidents in the future. The campaign from June to September 2023 wants to help reduce the number of accidents and to promote mountain biking as safe and healthy sport.