Accompanied by a colleague, the mountain biker was riding from Morteratsch on a natural road in the direction of Pontresina. At the Punt Surovas level crossing, he obviously overlooked the train approaching from the right. The fellow mountain biker following him and cyclists waiting on the other side of the crossing shouted warnings at him. At the last moment, the 45-year-old from Germany braked abruptly and fell forward, head first against the front of the train.

The accident victim was taken by Rega to the Graubünden Cantonal Hospital in Chur. He succumbed to his serious injuries there a few hours later. The railroad line was closed for almost an hour and a half after the accident.