Two Irish tourists tragically lost their lives in a devastating car collision within the heart of Italy’s capital, Rome.
At the ages of 59 and 60, these individuals were attempting to navigate a junction controlled by traffic lights in Rome at 1:50 pm BST (12:50 pm local time) on Thursday when a Ford Fiesta collided with them, as reported by the Italian news outlet Corriere.
After the forceful collision, the 54-year-old driver emerged from his vehicle to offer assistance while emergency services hurried to the scene.
Despite the efforts of both the driver and the paramedics, regrettably, the Irish citizens, believed to have succumbed to their injuries upon impact, could not be saved.
The driver, whose identity remains undisclosed at this time, was subsequently transported to Sant’Eugenio Hospital, as he had sustained injuries in the tragic incident as well.
Photographs from the crash site captured police officers within a secured perimeter. On the asphalt, a straw hat, thought to belong to one of the victims, lay abandoned.
To facilitate an initial investigation by law enforcement, one of the traffic lanes was closed to vehicular traffic. One crucial aspect officials will need to determine is whether the driver disregarded a red traffic signal when colliding with the two Irish tourists, as reported by Corriere.
This tragic incident unfolded on via Cristoforo Colombo, a road notorious for its perilous nature, situated within the Eur residential and business district in the southern outskirts of Rome. It is worth noting that only a fortnight prior, on the night of August 24, a 19-year-old lost his life while riding his moped along this same road. Additionally, just ten days earlier, the manager of a renowned beach resort in Ostia, near Rome, also met with a fatal accident while operating a moped.
Excessive speed by motorists is believed to be the primary factor contributing to the majority of these collisions.