More than 200 young people mourn moped rider in Liperi

More than 200 young people gathered in Liperi, a municipality in North Karelia, on Saturday to remember a boy who died in a moped accident, Yle reported. The memorial gathering was organised by local young people together with the police and rescue services.

Participants arrived at the accident scene on mopeds, moped cars and other vehicles. They left candles at the site, and many travelled there in a procession from a petrol station less than 10 kilometres away.

The gathering was organised with the authorities at the young people’s request. Mari Voutilainen, communications manager at the North Karelia rescue service, said authorities had probably never before been asked to take part in a moped gathering.

She said the event was larger and had a different atmosphere from usual. Several young people wanted to discuss traffic rules and road safety with officials, while many others sounded their horns in memory of the boy.

The youngest participants were 10 years old, while the oldest were adults, Voutilainen said.

The accident happened on Sunday, September 6, when the underage moped rider apparently struck a traffic island and crashed. Police found the injured boy at the Ylämylly and Karmikujan intersection at about 2.30am after a bystander heard the sound of a moped followed by a loud crash. The boy later died from his injuries.

The death has deeply affected young people, particularly moped riders, in Liperi and neighbouring municipalities. Crisis support was quickly arranged at schools and youth centres, and officials remain prepared to discuss the incident.

Voutilainen said another young boy had recently died in a moped accident in Varkaus. She urged people to behave safely in traffic, consider others and wear helmets to help prevent similar accidents.