A car chase lasting three kilometres ended in tragedy near Orta Nova when a vehicle carrying five underage passengers, all over the alcohol limit, overturned on a dangerous bend. A sixteen-year-old as killed.
A sixteen-year-old boy was killed and four other teenagers were injured after a car carrying five underage passengers — all of them over the legal alcohol limit — flipped on a bend near Orta Nova, in the province of Foggia. They were fleeing a Carabinieri checkpoint in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The driver, also sixteen, was at the wheel at 2:00 AM when he encountered a police checkpoint. He chose to flee. A chase lasting approximately three kilometres followed before the car — a Renault Mégane station wagon with Polish number plates — skidded on a notoriously dangerous curve on the outskirts of Orta Nova, struck a guardrail and overturned.
The teenager in the back seat, Andrea Procaccino, died at the scene. The other four passengers sustained minor injuries; three were released immediately, while a fourth was kept in hospital for observation. Alcohol and drug tests confirmed that all five had blood and urine levels above the legal limit, and two had also smoked cannabis.
Investigators established that there was no physical contact between the two vehicles during the pursuit. The Carabinieri patrol car maintained a distance of approximately 30 metres from the fleeing Mégane and reportedly reduced speed further as it approached the curve, an area with a prior history of accidents. The vehicle has valid insurance and is registered to a Polish citizen. However, no ownership documents were found inside the car, and Italian authorities are liaising with Polish counterparts to trace the owner and reconstruct the full sequence of events.
A town in grief
Orta Nova, 25 kilometres from Foggia, is mourning Andrea Procaccino. Mayor Domenico Di Vito described the community as “wounded and grieving” and called for collective reflection. “This story calls upon all of us — institutions, families, schools and civil society — to assume an even greater educational responsibility toward the new generations,” he said. “Our young people need examples, to be listened to, to be seen as reference points, and to be aware that the value of life comes first. No rush, no challenge, no moment of lightheartedness is worth the price of a life cut short.”
Andrea’s computer science teacher at the Adriano Olivetti Institute of Commerce, Alfredo Coppola, paid tribute to a student he described as “lively, smiling, cheerful — a boy who had so many dreams.” Coppola said Andrea had always spoken of finishing school and then building a future in his hometown. “He was a boy like many others his age, studious enough but eager,” his teacher said. “I feel sorry for these kids.” He addressed Andrea’s classmates directly: “I know you see only darkness now and feel immense pain, but please stay united. Hold each other tight. Andrea would never have wanted to see you sad or give up.”
His funeral will be held on 1 June at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Orta Nova.
