ANCONA – An articulated lorry tipped over and crashed into an ambulance, killing its driver and an elderly patient inside while seriously injuring another ambulance worker, police said Tuesday.

 The incident took place Monday on the exit junction of the A14 motorway heading towards the Marche shipping port. While rounding a sloping corner around 11 a.m., the driver lost control of the heavy goods vehicle and slammed into an ambulance and a BMW travelling in the opposite direction.

 Simone Sartini, the driver of the Red Cross emergency vehicle, was killed instantly. The 28 year-old health worker had been taking a man in his 80s to hospital, who also died as a result of the collision. A third person onboard the ambulance suffered serious injuries but was not in a critical condition. Rescue efforts to reach the victims lasted several hours, as those involved were crushed between sheets of metal, and were almost inaccessible behind the lorry.

 The man at the wheel of the BMW was not injured, despite the four-wheel-drive car taking major damage on the driver’s side. Similarly, the 30 year-old Romanian driver of the heavy goods vehicle, which was transporting hay bales, did not require medical attention, although he was in a state of shock.

 None of the motorists tested positive for alcohol or drugs. Investigators are considering a variety of possible causes such as the excessive speed of the lorry, the unsafe weight of cargo or a mechanical malfunction in the lorry itself.

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