He was 49 years old. The crash between Busco and Levada, the desperate attempt by passers-by to put out the flames with the fire extinguisher
BRIDGE OF PIAVE. A horrible death, perhaps inevitable: which left the carcass of a charred car on the edge of the ditch with the body of a man inside. And a whole country that is crying.
All Ponte di Piave is in mourning for Simone Stefanel, chef of the Gabbiano, son of the founder Benito. According to the first reports it was he, the 49-year-old father of a family, driving the car that caught fire in via Vittoria, yet another fatal accident on the Treviso roads.
The first to learn of the tragic news was his brother Gianluca, then the rest of the family and in a few hours also the whole town.
Children from a nearby house became aware of the incident. They looked out of the garden, saw the car on fire and ran inside the house to notify their mother, who immediately called 911. So the alarm went off yesterday afternoon, shortly after 4 pm.
The car, a Nissan Qashqai, would have hit a tree in the straight line first, then it would carambulate into a ditch, overturning and immediately catching fire. The accident occurred at street number 163 in via Vittoria, in Busco. The car engulfed in flames has turned into a death trap for its driver. The first to intervene were some motorists who were passing on the same carriageway.
A passer-by stopped his car and ran out with the fire extinguisher. He immediately got to work, so much so that at a certain point the beginning of the fire seemed to have been tamed.
But just when the worst epilogue seemed averted, there was a powerful flare. He probably gave up a tank of the car – fueled by petrol, but also by LPG gas – and at that point the first rescuers had to beat a retreat.
The chef died in the car burn. When the firefighters arrived and put out the flames, there was nothing more to be done. The body was found in its place, driving the vehicle, now charred.
On the spot, in addition to the firefighters, the Suem 118 helicopter went and the agents of the traffic police and local police intervened.
Until late, it was not possible to identify the victim: the personal documents were burned, those of the car as well, the number plates incinerated.
Law enforcement had to make numerous calls and searches before being able to name the victim. A tragedy that brings enormous pain to the whole country.MATTEO MARCON