Water-ski champ dies in horror crash

But the death did not occur during competition or training, as implied by the headline. It was a car crash incident and the 37-year-old victim Johnson Hui Chung-shun happened to be a water-ski champion.

The news headline reminded me of another similar headline: Netball Captain Dies After Choking.


References

Water-ski champ dies in horror crash (The Standard)

Rio Lau
Thursday, January 19, 2012

Champion water-skier and wakeboarder Johnson Hui Chung-shun was killed in a car crash in Tai Po yesterday.

Hui, 37, a registered coach with the Hong Kong Water Ski Association, crashed his car into a central divider, before hitting a traffic sign and lamppost on reaching 72 Ting Kok Road at about 3.30am on his way home.

Firemen had to cut through the roof of the BMW to get Hui out of the wreck. Parts of the mangled car, which rolled over several times, were spread across the road. He was alone.

The impact was such that the lamppost was bent into a U-shape and thrown 10 meters away.

Hui died at 4.16am from serious head injuries in a Tai Po hospital.

The association said on its website that Hui was "a long-standing HKWSA member, certified coach and national squad member."

It added: "He was always a great supporter for the association's many events and activities ... Johnson was our favorite MC for wakeboarding events. Johnson's contribution and cheerful personality will long be missed by all of us."

Hui was also a member of the Hong Kong wakeboard team for the 2009 IWSF Wakeboard World Championships in Chuncheon, South Korea.

Hui reached a career-high when he won the China National Water Ski Championships in August 2010.

Hui set up a wakeboard school at Sam Mun Tsai in Tai Po with singer Andrew Cheung Shung-kei and actress Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi's younger brother, Cheung Ho-lung.

A source said Hui loved driving at fast speeds. New Territories North police investigators found no brake marks on the road. They have not excluded the possibility that Hui was speeding or that he fell asleep at the wheel.

Founder of wakeboard school killed in car crash (SCMP; paywall)

Clifford Lo
Jan 19, 2012

One of the founders of a prominent watersports training school died yesterday after crashing his BMW into a road divider in Tai Po.

Wakeboard School founder Johnson Hui Chung-shun, 37, was driving towards Tai Mei Tuk when he lost control of his car on Ting Kok Road near Fortune Garden at 3.30am.

The car mounted the divider, crashed into railings and knocked down a traffic sign and lights, police said.

Hui was unconscious when he was freed from the wreckage by firefighters. He was declared dead in Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital at 4.16am.

Hui set up the Wakeboard School in Tai Po three years ago along with Andrew Cheung and Ronnie Cheung. He was a wakeboarding coach and a member of the Hong Kong Water Ski Association's wakeboard team.

Andrew Cheung paid tribute to Hui, saying he was a well respected, experienced and responsible coach.

"His death is a great loss," Cheung said, adding that Hui had made a huge contribution to the sport in the past decade.

Police believe Hui, who lived alone, was returning to his home in Wong Yue Tan, about 900 metres from the crash site. A police investigator said it was not a traffic black spot.

"We're looking into it - it's possible he was exceeding the speed limit of 70 kilometres an hour," the investigator said, adding that an autopsy would be carried out to determine whether Hui had been drinking.

The wreck of the black BMW 118i was taken to a government yard for examination.

Hui was a scuba-diving instructor for 10 years in Thailand before he went to Japan, where he spent two years training as a wakeboarding coach, Cheung said. He returned to Hong Kong 10 years ago.

Police appealed to any witnesses to the accident to contact them on 3661 3800.