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'You were truly one of a kind': Cyclist, 24, who died in Changi tipper truck accident was national triathlete Russell Lee
RIP.
November 15, 2026, 06:39 PM
Photo via simplyactiveasia on Instagram
The 24-year-old cyclist who died after a collision with a tipper truck along Tanah Merah Coast Road on Nov. 12 was national triathlete Russell Lee, SportPlus.sg revealed.
Police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) previously told Mothership they were alerted to the accident at about 8am.
Lee was pronounced dead at the scene by an SCDF paramedic.
The 38-year-old tipper truck driver is currently assisting with police investigations.
Lee is a student at Nanyang Technological University reading materials science and engineering.
He started competing in cross-country in secondary school and junior college, and joined triathlons after his National Service.
Teammates and coaches pay tribute
Tributes have since poured in for Lee.
Fellow national triathlete Herlene Natasha Yu said Lee had come to cheer her on at her first criterium race the previous weekend.
On the morning of the accident, they smiled and waved at each other from across the road.
“Never would I have thought, that wave would have been the last. I was probably the last familiar face you saw and that absolutely breaks me,” she wrote.
Teammate Tey Yi Jun recalled how Lee supported him through injuries and setbacks.
He had been looking forward to training together and going for karaoke once he finished his final-year project.
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Fellow triathlete Nicholas Rachmadi remembered Lee as a younger brother.
Lee’s former coaches at Elevate Performance Coaching remembered his father bringing him to training at 16.
They extended their condolences to his family and asked the public to show them empathy and respect.
Methodist Welfare Services CEO Albert Ching, who previously led the Singapore Cancer Society, joined fellow Allez Collective ride leaders to remember Lee, who was also a ride leader with the group.
Spate of accidents
Lee's death comes amid a spate of fatal accidents involving cyclists.
A day before his passing, another cyclist died on Nov. 11 after a collision with a tipper truck at Katong.
On Nov. 13, a 75-year-old man died after his power-assisted bicycle collided with a car in Hougang.
Some in the sporting community have since called for greater public safety and enforcement.
