SENAGO (MILAN) – Three teenagers died and six others were injured early this morning after the car they were travelling in crashed into the Villoresi Canal in Senago. Around 5:30 a.m., emergency services responded to the scene where an Audi A2 carrying nine young people had left the road and entered the water.
Lorenzo Benin and Riccardo Provasi, both 17 years old, were trapped inside the vehicle and recovered deceased by firefighter divers. Camilla Copparoni, 18, was extracted from the wreckage but died shortly after arriving at the hospital despite resuscitation attempts by medical personnel.
The remaining occupants were pulled from the vehicle by responders from AREU, the Carabinieri, and the fire department. Six were transported to nearby hospitals for medical treatment, while the driver was hospitalised and remains under surveillance.
Driver faces aggravated vehicular homicide charges
The driver of the vehicle, 19-year-old Gabriele Popovici, is currently at the Niguarda Hospital under shock. He is being investigated for aggravated multiple vehicular homicide.
Initial toxicological tests revealed that Popovici’s blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit. The Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office has ordered autopsies for the three victims as part of the formal investigation.
Carabinieri investigators are reconstructing the sequence of events. Initial findings indicate the group was returning from a nightclub in Lainate.
The vehicle was travelling along a stretch of road running alongside the Villoresi Canal that is closed to motor vehicles. The driver lost control on a curve near a bicycle path, striking a protective railing before the car entered the canal.
Senago Mayor Magda Beretta provided details regarding the location of the crash and expressed condolences to the families:
“I can confirm that in that area there is a dirt road and a bike path marked off by a wooden railing, but it is not open to cars. If you continue, you return to the passable roads toward the center of Senago. At this time, the victims do not appear to be residents of Senago.”
Emergency crews concluded operations to recover the vehicle from the canal bed later this morning, while authorities continue to gather statements from the surviving passengers.
