The second driver of a bus carrying fans of the PistoiaItalian basketball team after a game of liga A2died this Sunday night after the impact of a stone thrown in an attack by fans of the rival team, the Sebastiani Basket de Rieti.
The bus was attacked with stones at the entrance of the Rieti-Terni highwayaround 8:50 p.m. and just after the police escort that had accompanied them left as altercations were feared.
Initial reports suggest that the 65-year-old deceased, who was in the seat next to the driver, was hit in the carotid artery by a sharp object that went through the windshield.
The bus was carrying forty-five fans who were celebrating their team’s victory in Rieti when, upon entering the highway, they began to be hit with stones, according to the media.
“We were calm, we had won, we were joking. Then we heard what sounded like explosions, at least a couple, maybe more. Luckily, the driver’s window held and he was able to stop quickly. He only had a cut on his face. The other driver, however, did not survive,” the fans explained to the media.
The police had already intervened during the match to prevent the situation from getting worse, but without the clashes escalating.
The Pistoia basketball team expressed its “consternation”awaiting the conclusions of an investigation while the Rieti club also expressed “its most sincere condolences and solidarity with the family of the driver injured” by “an atrocious act.”
The Italian Sports Minister, Andrea Abodistated on his social networks: “But how can you die like this, on the way home after a basketball game? The attack perpetrated tonight near Rieti by criminals who became murderers and who can never be considered fans is shocking. Sport is life, and these criminals are light years away from sporting values.”