A British man who worked as a teacher in the Austrian city of Vienna was killed as he tried to cross a road while listening to an MP3 player. The man was run down by a tram on the street, unable to hear the oncoming tram.

Hugh Linley was forty-six years old and a teacher working in Vienna. The driver of the tram tried to stop in time was moving too fast to avoid hitting Mr Linley, causing multiple injuries to his head, ribs and kidneys.

The man died in hospital after being in a coma for three days. This further highlights the dangers of listening to MP3 players and iPods while out on the streets, as it means the wearer cannot hear traffic noise that would effectively warn them against dangers.

Less than a month ago Lisa Morgan, a twenty year old student from Glasgow University, died in North Carolina while listening to her iPod. She was jogging while listening to her iPod and was hit by a bus while on the campus grounds at Chapel Hill University.

Mr Linley had lived in Vienna for a great many years and was married to an American woman.

An Austrian policeman stated:

He was lying unconscious in a pool of blood when we arrived. It was a horrible sight. He had suffered serious multiple injuries and was in a life-threatening condition.

We summoned the helicopter emergency service as there was no time to wait for an ambulance car.

It was a very serious accident. He apparently failed to see and hear the warning signals of the tram as he had headphones on and was listening to loud music from an MP3 player.