Driver facing 10yrs in jail over Irish tourists’ deaths
Italian ‘took coke & was speeding’
AN Italian driver is facing the possibility of more than a decade in jail over the deaths of two Irish tourists.
The Irish Mirror has established a Roman prosecutor is asking for the suspect in the deaths of Paul and Mary O’reilly to be charged with aggravated vehicular homicide.
The offence can carry a sentence of between eight and 12 years.
The man has been under investigation since the couple from the Kilmore area of Co Wexford were killed after they were struck by a car while on holiday in Rome in September last year.
It had been thought the suspect, who is 54 and from the Italian capital, would be charged with the lesser offence of vehicular homicide which carries a sentence of as little as two years in prison. But state prosecutor Eleonora Fini has now reportedly asked for the suspect to be charged with the more serious aggravated vehicular homicide.
Media reports in Italy say she did so because of evidence the driver was speeding and allegedly had cocaine in his system, both of which are deemed aggravating factors in Italian law.
Reports say police have established that the car which ploughed into Mary, 59, and 60-year-old Paul was travelling at 90kph, even though the limit on the Via Cristoforo Colombo in the south of the city was just 60kph. And an expert engineer appointed by police has concluded Mr and Mrs O’reilly would have survived the crash if the Ford Fiesta had been driven at the speed limit.
The Italian investigation also concluded the well-respected husband and wife were killed as they crossed the road to try to catch a bus that was due to take them to the centre of Rome.
The couple crossed at traffic lights but the driver ploughed into them.
The Italian investigation also says that the driver – who later allegedly tested positive for cocaine in his system – stopped and tried to help the victims but they died almost immediately.
The investigation is now complete and the driver’s trial is due to start in Rome later this year.