A quiet autumn evening turned into a tragedy along state road 18. Not far from the town centre, a man of foreign nationality – a 47-year-old Romanian – was hit by a Fiat Panda driven by a girl. It was just after 9pm when the 47-year-old riding his bike was literally thrown to the ground by the car. The impact was very violent. The Carabinieri of the Scalea Company and the traffic police arrived on site in a few moments. The investigations are entrusted to the traffic police who will have to ascertain the dynamics of the impact. The firefighters and 118 health workers were also on site but were unable to do anything other than confirm his death. Traffic was diverted to allow rescue operations and technical investigations by the traffic police which continued for several hours. It is not the first time that state road 18 and the roads adjacent to and leading to it have been the tragic scene of similar tragic accidents. Stretches that are not served either by wide and safe platforms or by cycle paths. Furthermore, the area of the accident – not far from the local purification plant – is almost in darkness.
State road 18 near the municipalities of Amantea, Paola, Fuscaldo, Cetraro and Scalea is a constant danger for two-wheel lovers. But also and above all for the many foreigners – many of them non-EU citizens who travel through it to reach the towns from the reception centers – who cross it far and wide day and night in poorly lit areas and on bikes without lights. Motorists often see them emerging from the darkness and the irreparable is therefore almost a logical consequence.
