An Italian YouTuber driving a rented Lamborghini SUV as part of a social media stunt crashed into a Smart car in Rome, killing a five-year-old boy and injuring his mother and four-year-old sister.
Matteo Di Pietro, 20, was allegedly driving the blue Lamborghini Urus with four other YouTubers as passengers when he crashed head-on with the family’s Smart Farfour at around 4pm on Wednesday.
Manuel Proietti, five, was rushed to a hospital in Ostia alongside his mother and sister, but the little boy died shortly afterwards.
Manuel’s mother Elena Uccello, 29, is still being treated in hospital for her injuries while his four-year-old sister, who has not been named, was released under the care of her paternal grandparents.
Locals claim the YouTubers in the SUV had tried to overtake a car at a high speed while taunting other drivers as part of a social media stunt before crashing head-on with the family’s smart car after Elena had picked up her children from kindergarten.
Manuel Proietti, five, (left) was rushed to a hospital in Ostia alongside his mother and sister, but the little boy died shortly afterwards. Manuel’s mother Elena Uccello, 29, (centre) is still being treated in hospital for her injuries while his four-year-old sister (right), who has not been named, was released under the care of her paternal grandparents
Matteo Di Pietro, 20, (pictured) was allegedly driving the blue Lamborghini Urus with four other YouTubers as passengers when he crashed head-on with the family’s Smart Farfour at around 4pm on Wednesday
Locals claim the YouTubers in the SUV had tried to overtake a car at a high speed while taunting other drivers as part of a social media stunt before crashing head-on with the family’s smart car (pictured: the scene)
Just two hours before the crash, social media influencer Vito Loiacono, who was a passenger in the Lamborghini, had posted a video on his TikTok mocking smart cars for being cheap compared to his rented sports car.
‘This woman in the smart car, what is she doing? Hello love, your car costs 300 euros, used, from Concad (Italian retail store). Mine costs one billion, it’s worth as much as Amazon,’ Loiacano says in the video from inside the Lamborghini.
Hours later, Loiacano joined driver Di Pietro and three other YouTubers, who have over 600,000 followers, for a stunt in the Lamborghini. It was during this fateful drive that they crashed into Elena’s car, killing her five-year-old son and injuring her four-year-old daughter.
Residents said they heard a ‘terrifying bang’ to find that a man was giving first aid to Manuel at the scene of the crash.
‘I was at home when I heard a terrifying bang and I went out. Within a few minutes, many people came and there was a boy who was giving first aid to the child, trying to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation,’ a local told Il Messaggero. ‘I couldn’t get close because it was a gruesome scene.’
On the pavement next to the crash site, there are still pieces of the Lamborghini’s blue bodywork that was cut away from the SUV by the sheer impact of the crash.
Five of those inside the SUV belong to the group called ‘The BorderLine’. The YouTubers had been taking part in a social media challenge that sees influencers take part in stunts in a bid to win prizes, reports Corriere della Sera.
Prosecutors in Rome are investigating Di Pietro for vehicular homicide and aggravated injuries while traffic police are trying to decipher who was filming the stunts from inside the Lamborghini.
The YouTubers had been taking part in a social media challenge that sees influencers take part in stunts in a bid to win prizes, reports .
Just two hours before the crash, social media influencer Vito Loiacono, who was a passenger in the Lamborghini, had posted a video on his TikTok mocking smart cars for being cheap compared to his rented sports car
Initial reports had suggested that Loiacono (pictured) was driving the Lamborghini at the time of the crash but it was later confirmed that Di Pietro was behind the wheel
They have seized the phones from the five YouTubers, who belong to the group TheBorderline.
The YouTubers documented their challenges on social media and in one video, Loiacono was seen kissing the Lamborghini before saying: ‘I’m the protagonist from Fast & Furious. What is this lever for? It’s to go into space.’
Initial reports had suggested that Loiacono was driving the Lamborghini at the time of the crash but it was later confirmed that Di Pietro was behind the wheel.
Shortly after the crash, Loiacono wrote on an Instagram post: ‘The trauma I am experiencing is indescribable. I just want to say that I have never been behind the wheel and that I am very close to the victim’s family.’
As news emerged of the crash, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said repeat driving offenders who cause fatal crashes should lose their driver’s license for life.
Salvini said today: ‘A five-year-old boy died just outside Rome, apparently a social media challenge involving five YouTubers in a Lamborghini was taking place and they crushed this child.
‘If you are a repeat offender and take a person’s life because you are a jerk behind the wheel, you don’t see your license for the rest of your life, it’s not like I suspend it for a few months.’
Alessio D’Amato, regional councilor of Lazio, said the social media accounts of those involved in the crash should be closed immediately.
‘Today I join in the pain of little Manuel’s family, hoping that his mother and little sister can recover soon, aware that the immense pain of the parents will not be able to heal,’ D’Amato said.
