Giovanni Castellucci, former head of Autostrade per l'Italia, gets 12 years for Genoa bridge collapse that killed 43

GENOA, Italy, July 16 (Reuters) – An Italian court on Thursday sentenced the former head of Italian highway operator Autostrade per l’Italia to 12 years in prison for his role in the 2018 disaster that killed 43 people when a bridge collapsed outside the city of Genoa.

Giovanni Castellucci was among 57 people on trial over the collapse of the Morandi Bridge, which sent vehicles into warehouses and the riverbed below the overpass during a summer storm.

A total of 32 people were convicted, with others receiving sentences of up to 11 years, while 25 were acquitted or acquitted due to the statute of limitations.

Read also | The 25% tariff is becoming an “election gift” for Brazil’s President Lula, Bolsonaro told the US

A courtroom filled with 400 victims’ relatives, lawyers, journalists and members of the public fell silent as presiding judge Paolo Lepri read the sentence.

Some relatives hugged and cried, but others said they needed time to digest the outcome.

“We need to better understand the decision, there are a lot of defendants involved,” said Egle Possetti, a spokeswoman for the victims, who lost their sister, brother-in-law and two of their sister’s children in the tragedy.

The case has become both a search for responsibility for the disaster and a symbol of the slow pace of justice in Italy’s complex criminal justice system.

Castellucci to appeal

Castellucci, who also served as CEO of Atlantia, Autostrade’s controlling shareholder at the time, was convicted of complicity in multiple counts of manslaughter.

Read also | The New York Times files a motion to quash the Trump administration’s subpoena

Castellucci is already in prison, serving a six-year sentence for another fatal incident in 2013 on a viaduct in southern Italy, and was not in court to hear the sentence.

“This is a defeat for the truth about what happened,” said his lawyer Giovanni Paolo Accinni.

“It is part of a trend that has already led to Castellucci being sent to prison. Criminalizing the CEO cannot be the answer. We will continue to fight for his innocence.”

Under the Italian legal system, a first instance decision can be appealed at least twice.

Vehicles fall from a broken bridge

The collapse of the then 51-year-old Morandi Bridge on the eve of a public holiday shocked Italy and set off years of investigation into the management and maintenance of its aging infrastructure.

Read also | Wangchuk Hunger Strike LIVE: Arvind Kejriwal slams BJP over paper leak

A fifty-metre (160 ft) high section of the bridge collapsed and up to 35 vehicles passed over it.

The disaster caused a dispute between Atlantia, controlled by the Benetton family, and the government of the day, which ended with the sale of Atlantia’s controlling stake in Autostrade.

The plaintiffs say years of poor maintenance, ignored warning signs and delayed safety work contributed to the collapse, saying vital work was delayed while profits continued to be generated and distributed.

Defense attorneys reject this theory. They argue that the disaster was caused by an original structural flaw in the cables of bridge number nine, which failed, and that no maintenance program could have prevented the tragedy.

(Reporting by Emilio Parodi, Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Sharon Singleton, Alexandra Hudson)

Disclaimer: This story was published from the agency’s news feed without editing the text. Only the title was changed.

Get the latest updates in real time

Stay informed about the latest trends, Indian, World and US news.

HomeNewsWorldGiovanni Castellucci, former head of Autostrade per l’Italia, gets 12 years for Genoa bridge collapse that killed 43More