A devastating chain-reaction collision on Italy’s A1 motorway has claimed three lives and injured fifteen others. The crash occurred near Levanella between the Arezzo and Valdarno exits northbound around 11:30 AM Tuesday, trapping a Terranuova Bracciolini Misericordia ambulance between two heavy goods vehicles amidst multiple cars.
The ambulance—transferring a patient from Arezzo Hospital to Gruccia Hospital in Valdarno—was reportedly slowed in congested traffic when a following articulated lorry failed to brake in time. The violent impact crushed the emergency vehicle against a truck ahead. Killed instantly were paramedics Gianni Trappolini, 56, and Giulia Santoni, 23, alongside their patient, 75-year-old retiree Franco Lovari. All were Valdarno residents.
Emergency services including multiple ambulances, firefighters from Arezzo, Florence, Valdarno, and even a crew returning to Turin from Rome, highway police, and Autostrade per l’Italia personnel responded. The driver of the lorry that struck the ambulance, a 57-year-old man in critical condition, was airlifted to Florence’s Careggi hospital. Four others suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, while ten sustained minor injuries.
The northbound carriageway remained closed for eight hours, effectively severing Italy’s main artery. Southbound lanes reopened by 3:30 PM. The closure caused gridlock stretching kilometers in both directions, with significant spillover onto local roads in Valdarno and Siena regions. Hundreds of motorists were stranded for hours in a five-kilometer queue near the crash site before being diverted overnight.
Police are investigating potential causes including excessive speed, driver distraction, medical episode, technical failure, or fatigue. Authorities have seized surveillance footage, will interview witnesses, and will analyze the trucks’ black boxes. The lorry driver faces mandatory toxicology testing. Autopsies on the victims are pending.
This marks the second fatal accident on the Tuscan motorway stretch within days, following a July 15th tunnel crash in Barberino del Mugello that killed five family members.
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