Domenico and Valerio, the hero policeman and the dead old man embracing on the bottom of the river

The policeman Domenico Zorzino was 49 years old and on Friday afternoon he was jogging with his two border collies. When he saw a car carrying a man crash into the Gorzone canal, in Anguillara in the Padua area, he did not hesitate. He tied up the dogs, called 112 and dived.

Valerio Buoso , the 75-year-old driving the Ford Fusion, had been struck by an illness. Unfortunately, the attempt was useless: perhaps surprised by the current, Zorzino's body was found ten meters away from the point where he had jumped into the water. He was still holding the elderly man by the shoulders, as correctly foreseen by the drowning rescue maneuvers.

Words of condolence for the dramatic event, also from the Head of State Sergio Mattarella : "I learned with deep sadness", declared the President, in a message sent to the Chief of Police Lamberto Giannini, "the news of the death of the Assistant Chief Coordinator of the State Police Domenico Zorzino who, while he was free from service, did not hesitate to intervene in an attempt to rescue a motorist who fell with his own vehicle into a stream in the province of Padua. In expressing solidarity with you and the State Police, please convey to your family the expressions of my moved participation in their condolences".