Police obtain video of fatal Varkaus moped crash and suspect no crime

Police believe the fatal moped crash in Varkaus was an accident and that no crime is suspected based on current information, Yle reports. A 15-year-old boy died in the crash on Thursday.

The boy died after the moped rider fell and ended up under an empty timber truck at the intersection of Highway 23 and Relanderinkatu in central Varkaus, shortly before 7pm.

Police have obtained footage from a camera in the truck’s cab. The crash itself is not visible, but the recording shows events over several hundred metres before it happened and supports witness accounts.

According to those accounts, the moped rider was positioned alongside the truck in a lane for vehicles turning right but continued straight through the intersection for an unknown reason. The rider then apparently lost balance and fell under the rear of the truck.

Police identified and contacted the Finnish truck driver by investigating transport operations serving industrial facilities in Varkaus. The driver told police by telephone that he remembered seeing the moped in the adjacent lane but had not noticed the crash and therefore continued driving.

Police are investigating the case as endangering traffic safety and causing death, but the truck driver is not currently suspected of any offence.