It took five years of expert reports, consultations, and numerous court hearings . And, almost coinciding with the fifth anniversary of the accident that claimed the life of Carabinieri officer Giuseppe Carta , the verdict has arrived. Judge Paola Bussu of the Oristano Court sentenced Gianluca Danza, a 34-year-old Carabiniere from Caserta, to one year and four months in prison . Danza was driving the Alfa 146 carrying the soldier serving with the Cagliari Battalion. Cristian Demontis, a 45-year-old from Morgongiori who was driving the truck that crashed into the soldier's car, was acquitted "because the fact does not exist."

The accident occurred on the afternoon of October 21, 2020, on the 131 near the Paulilatino junction. The Alfa 146, in which the two off-duty officers were traveling, approached a curve at high speed and the driver lost control of the car, which collided with the truck. The impact, which occurred about forty meters after the intersection, was extremely violent: the front end of the Alfa ended up under the truck, leaving no escape for the 45-year-old corporal, who died in the entangled wreckage . Danza was also injured and was airlifted to the hospital in Sassari in critical condition.

Traffic police officers reconstructed the incident, while the Prosecutor's Office opened a vehicular homicide investigation: both the driver of the truck and the Carabiniere driving the car were under investigation. Among the hypotheses was that Danza may have been blinded by the sun, and prosecutor Andrea Chelo subsequently requested indictment for both. The trial was lengthy, involving expert reports and various consultations. And during the trial, Roberto Tuveri, appointed by Demontis' defense, represented by Rosaria Manconi, demonstrated that the truck driver's maneuver had been completely legal.

The truck had entered the 131, heading toward Cagliari, remaining in the overtaking lane. The impact occurred several meters after the junction: the Alfa 146, as confirmed by the technical reports, had crashed at very high speed, skidded, and ended up in the lane occupied by the truck.

Expert reports revealed that no maneuver at that speed could have prevented the devastating crash of the car driven by Danza (represented by the lawyer Bachisio Mele). The Carta family joined the civil action with the lawyer Marcello Medici.

© Riproduzione riservata