Italian hit-and-run accused back in custody
The son of a retired police chief and local election candidate in Rome has appeared in court again in relation to the killing of two women, one of whom was from Limerick, in a hit-and-run in Rome over the weekend.
Friedrich Vernarelli (32) has been charged with four offences, including manslaughter, failing to stop and give assistance at the scene of an accident, causing damage to public property.
Vernareli was placed under house arrest after being charged and further charges of driving whilst under the influence of alcohol may be brought.
Public prosecutor Andrea Mosca had requested Vernarelli’s imprisonment on the grounds that they had new information in the investigation into the fatal incident.
When stopped by police on Tuesday morning, Vernarelli refused to take a breathalyser test. Doctors later found that his alcohol intake was four and half times above the legal limit for driving.
The accused man’s father, Robert Vernarelli, has said that his son wants to go to prison for the killings. “We spoke at length about the prosecutor’s request and he said to me, ‘Dad, I want to go to jail’. I am proud of this decision my son has made.
“I told him to take courage and face his responsibilities. I told him he couldn’t run away and not to use a lawyer to reduce his guilt. In a world where everyone tried to run away, he will pay for what he has done and serve his sentence,”
Vernarelli’s father has also said that he has sent a telegram to the Irish Embassy in Rome expressing his deepest sympathies to the families of the two women, to ask them for forgivness for his son’s actions, He has described the whole affair as leaving three families in mourning.
Elizabeth Gubbins from Lisnagry in County Limerick, and her friend Mary Claire Collins from Athy in County Kildare were killed instantly when they were hit by a car at a pedestrian crossing while on holiday in the Italian capital.
Ms Gubbin’s sister has travelled to Rome, but it could be a week before Elizabeth’s remains are returned home.