Cecilia De Astis, 71, was struck and killed by minors driving a stolen vehicle while walking on Via Saponaro in Milan’s Gratosoglio district. The youths, reportedly as young as 10-12 years old according to witnesses, fled the scene on foot after the high-speed crash without summoning aid.
Surveillance footage shows three males and one female abandoning the French-registered Citroën DS4, stolen the previous day from a 20-year-old French tourist near the crash site. Preliminary police reconstruction indicates the driver lost control on a curve around noon, mounted the curb, plowed through greenery separating the road from tram tracks, and struck De Astis as she crossed at a pedestrian walkway. The impact threw her body several meters and snapped a road sign before the wrecked car halted.
Medical responders attempted resuscitation, but De Astis—a widow who worked locally for 30 years at the Cederna cotton mill—succumbed to her injuries. Her son publicly urged the perpetrators to surrender, stating, “Examine your conscience. Everyone has pulled pranks, but not like this.”
Milan prosecutor Enrico Pavone is investigating for aggravated vehicular homicide, failure to render aid, and auto theft. Police are tracing the suspects’ escape route via security cameras and reviewing their prior movements. If confirmed as minors (footage suggests some appear 14 or younger), the juvenile court will handle proceedings.
The incident echoes a similar hit-and-run last Friday in Calvagese della Riviera (Brescia), where 42-year-old mother Diana Siminescu was killed by a driver who fled without assistance.