Latest news with #L'UnioneSarda
Indian Express
12-07-2025
- Indian Express
‘Vehicle kept moving, hitting her': Lufthansa CEO's wife accused of mowing down young woman on Italian street
Italian police are investigating Vivian Spohr, the wife of Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr, after she allegedly hit and killed a 24-year-old woman while driving in Sardinia. The Independent reported that the incident happened on Tuesday around 1 pm in Porto Cervo. Spohr was driving a BMW X5 with her daughter in the car when she struck Gaia Costa, a local resident who was crossing the street at a pedestrian crossing. Witnesses told police that Costa raised her arm to signal the car to stop, but it did not slow down. 'The vehicle kept moving and hit her,' local newspaper L'Unione Sarda reported, according to The Independent. Emergency workers tried to save Costa at the scene, but she died from severe head injuries after about 20 minutes of attempts. Vivian is being investigated for suspected road homicide. Authorities are also checking whether she may have been using her mobile phone at the time of the crash. Alcohol and drug tests were negative, according to the same report. The Spohr family, who have a house near the crash site, returned to Germany shortly after the incident. Vivian Spohr's lawyer, Angelo Merlini, told German newspaper Bild: 'The exact circumstances are now being investigated. The Spohr family has expressed its deepest sympathy to the victim's family.' An autopsy on Gaia Costa's body is scheduled for Wednesday, 16 July. Carsten Spohr has been the head of Lufthansa Group since 2014. The couple has two daughters.
Mint
12-07-2025
- Mint
Lufthansa CEO's wife, on vacation, mows down woman in Italy's Sardinia, expresses 'deep sorrow'
The wife of Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr, Vivian Alexandra Spohr (51), this week crashed her SUV into 24-year-old Gaia Costa in Italy's Sardinia while she was on her vacation, reported the Daily Mail. The report stated that Vivian was behind the wheel of her SUV when she hit Gaia Costa as the latter was attempting to cross the road. Gaia was using a Zebra crossing in Sardinia's Porto Cervo. According to the CCTV footage, before she noticed the SUV approaching her, Gaia attempted to cross the road, and later tried to stop it with a wave of her hand, too. However, the car didn't stop, and Gaia was severely injured in the accident. Soon the paramedics arrived at the spot and tried to revive Gaia for 20 minutes. But she succumbed to the injuries. According to a report by local L'Unione Sarda, Vivian Alexandra Spohr initially did not notice the accident until a passerby reminded her. After being informed how injured Gaia was, Vivian fainted at the spot. Vivian later underwent alcohol and drug tests, which were negative. her car is under technical probe. Vivian has travelled back home to Berlin and reportedly helping with the inquiry. She has also made herself available to Italian judicial authorities, as she is not legally required to stay back in the Italian island for the ongoing investigation into vehicular homicide. Her lawyer, Angelo Merlini, while speaking to the media said, "Vivian Spohr, who was involved in the tragic death, expresses her dismay and deep regret over this very serious accident." In the meantime, the Spohr family offered the victim's family their sincerest condolences. Porto Cervo's mayor, Gianni Addis, while recalling Gaia Costa's love of regional customs, said, "Gaia was a young woman who was deeply involved in the city's social and cultural life. She was passionate about our traditions and never missed the parades of the local folk group."
Daily Mirror
11-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
Airline CEO's wife 'killed young woman in SUV crash before leaving country'
Gaia Costa, 24, died after she was struck by an SUV as she walked across the road on a zebra crossing in Sardinia - despite the best efforts of paramedics, she died from her injuries The wife of German aviation group Lufthansa's CEO allegedly killed a young woman, running her over with her SUV before she left the country. Gaia Costa, 24, died after she was struck by an SUV as she crossed the road at a zebra crossing in the Italian commune of Porto Cervo, in Sardinia, on Tuesday. Vivian Alexandra Spohr, 51, the wife of Lufthansa CEO Carsten Sophr was allegedly behind the wheel. Babysitter Gaia was still alive when paramedics arrived but she later died from serious injuries sustained to her head. Spohr is said to have fled Sardinia and flown home to Germany following the fatal crash. Spohr is now under investigation for negligent homicide in road traffic, the La Repubblica reported. She reportedly returned to Munich as prosecutor Milena Aucone registered her as a suspect. Her lawyers said today that she was at the disposal of Italian prosecutors and shared a statement. "Vivian Spohr, who was involved in the tragic death, expresses her dismay and deep regret over this very serious accident," it read. Spohr was on holiday at her family vacation home when the incident happened. CCTV reportedly showed Gaia crossing the road before she noticed the SUV. She then tried to stop it by waving her hand but was knocked to the ground with her head hitting the road. Paramedics later arrived and spent 20 minutes in an attempt to revive her. Local outlet L'Unione Sarda said Spohr had been driving with her daughter and did not notice an accident had happened and was stopped by a passer-by. She was reportedly so shocked that she fainted when she saw the injured Gaia. Spohr then underwent alcohol and drug tests, which were negative. Officials have seized the SUV and will carry out an investigation following the Wednesday examination of Gaia's body. Mayor Gianni Addis said: "Gaia was a young woman who was deeply involved in the city's social and cultural life. She was passionate about our traditions and never missed the parades of the local folk group." No arrests have been made as of Friday afternoon. In 2020, a total of 2,395 people were killed in traffic accidents in Italy, according to the European Road Safety Observatory released in 2023. The country is 11th out of 27 EU countries in terms of the lowest numbers of fatalities per every million inhabitants.
New York Post
03-07-2025
- New York Post
Socialite charged with murder after video allegedly shows her running down bag thief with SUV
An Italian socialite has been charged with murder after she was allegedly caught on camera repeatedly running over a mugger for snatching her bags. Cinzia Dal Pino, 65, is accused of killing Nourdine Mezgoui, a 52-year-old Moroccan national, in the Italian seaside resort of Viareggio after he stole her bag, L'Unione Sarda reported. Shocking security footage shows Dal Pino allegedly mowing down the suspected bag thief with her SUV on Sept. 8 of last year. Advertisement Video shows Mezgoui walking along the sidewalk when a vehicle suddenly appears to deliberately veer into him. 4 Italian socialite Cinzia Dal Pino is accused of repeatedly running down a suspected bag thief. Facebook The SUV then reverses and runs over Mezgoui three times as he laid on the sidewalk. Advertisement The driver, who prosecutors say is Dal Pino, then gets out of the car and goes over to retrieve the bag Mezgoui allegedly stole from her before driving off. 4 Shocking footage reportedly shows Dal Pino repeatedly running over the alleged thief, Nourdine Mezgoui. NewsX 4 She then gets out of the car to retrieve her bag before driving off. NewsX Dal Pino, a successful entrepreneur and socialite, now faces charges of voluntary homicide and could be handed a life sentence. 4 Mezgoui's relative holds up a photo of the Moroccan national. NoiTv ReteVersilia Advertisement Her defense argued unsuccessfully that the crime should be requalified as an act of self-defense. She has remained under house arrest with an electronic tag since her arrest. A preliminary hearing was held in a nearby court in Lucca on Thursday, and Dal Pino is due to appear in court again on Sept. 24.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Convicted Cardinal Backs Down, Says He Won't Participate In Upcoming Conclave
Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who lost his rights as a cardinal because of a criminal conviction, will not participate in the next conclave after insisting that he would. 'I have decided to obey, as I have always done, Pope Francis' will not to enter the Conclave while remaining convinced of my innocence,' Becciu said in a statement Tuesday. Becciu, who in 2023 was sentenced to five and a half years in prison for embezzlement for using Vatican funds to donate to a charity run by his brother, said last week that he was set on participating in the conclave beginning May 7 to replace Pope Francis. However, the Holy See press office declared him a 'non-elector' because of his embezzlement conviction. Becciu told the Sardinian newspaper L'Unione Sarda that 'there was no explicit wish to exclude me from the conclave, nor a request for an explicit written renunciation on my part.' On Tuesday, he reversed his stance. Becciu was the first ever cardinal tried in the Vatican criminal court, and while he is waiting for his appeal to be considered, he can still live in a Vatican apartment. Becciu attended the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome over the weekend, but he had a complex history with the pontiff. In September 2020, Pope Francis reportedly forced Becciu to resign as head of the Vatican's saint-making office after the embezzlement allegations surfaced, and Francis also stripped him of 'his rights connected to the cardinalate.' It's not clear if the pope took away Becciu's voting rights, however. Some conclave voters felt that if Becciu wasn't allowed to vote, the conclave would be illegitimate, according to The New York Times. Vatican Announces Start Date For Conclave To Elect New Pope Convicted Cardinal Wants To Take Part In Conclave To Select Pope Francis' Successor 'Conclave' Screenwriter Responds To Megyn Kelly's Viral Rant About Movie
