logo
Elderly man drives down Rome's historic Spanish steps after mistaking monument for a road

Elderly man drives down Rome's historic Spanish steps after mistaking monument for a road

Independent14 hours ago

This is the moment an elderly man drove his car down Rome 's historic Spanish Steps, later telling police he thought he was on his way to work.
The 81-year-old, wearing a suit and tie, was seen behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz A Class sedan as it descended the 18th-century monument at dawn on Tuesday, 17 June.
Speaking to municipal police at the scene, the man reportedly said he did not realise where he was. He tested negative for alcohol, but authorities are now considering whether to revoke his driving licence.
Firefighters later removed the vehicle with a crane, while experts from Italy 's culture ministry are assessing possible damage to the landmark.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The dramatic moment a pensioner gets stuck driving down iconic Rome landmark - before being hoisted out by crane
The dramatic moment a pensioner gets stuck driving down iconic Rome landmark - before being hoisted out by crane

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

The dramatic moment a pensioner gets stuck driving down iconic Rome landmark - before being hoisted out by crane

A pensioner accidentally got stuck driving down Rome's famous Spanish Steps, and ended up having to be rescued by police, firefighters and a crane. At around 4am on Tuesday, an unnamed 80-year-old man was driving his Mercedes-Benz A-Class sedan through Italy 's capital, when he accidentally turned onto the historic landmark. A video that's gone viral shows the car falling halfway down the 135 stone steps, before coming to a complete stop, wedged and unable to move further. The car is then seen being lifted off the Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti by a crane. Following the incident, the area was quickly cordoned off, police officers and firefighters were called to the scene, and public access to the Spanish Steps was temporarily restricted. According to CNN, archaeologists were also brought in to assess the site for any damage, which is a common occurrence with protected heritage sites. Although an inspection revealed damage to the vehicle, officials have yet to confirm whether the staircase itself sustained any harm. While it's unclear how exactly this accident happened, the man told police he'd been 'going to work' at the time. While it's unclear how exactly this accident happened, the man told police he'd been 'going to work' at the time The officers at the scene stopped him and took him to hospital, where tests confirmed he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and was unharmed. This isn't the first time someone has mistakenly driven down the Spanish Steps. In 2022, a 37-year-old man from Saudi Arabia drove a Maserati down the same staircase, causing physical damage to the monument. Unlike this man, that driver fled the scene but was later tracked down thanks to CCTV footage and rental car records. He was eventually arrested at Milan's Malpensa airport and charged with aggravated damage to cultural heritage and monuments.

Russia sentences activist who helped Ukrainians flee war to 22 years in prison
Russia sentences activist who helped Ukrainians flee war to 22 years in prison

Reuters

timean hour ago

  • Reuters

Russia sentences activist who helped Ukrainians flee war to 22 years in prison

LONDON, June 20 (Reuters) - A Russian activist who helped collect humanitarian aid for Ukraine and evacuate Ukrainians from the war zone was sentenced on Friday to 22 years in prison by a Moscow military court, the RIA state news agency reported. Nadezhda Rossinskaya, also known as Nadin Geisler, ran a group called "Army of Beauties", which said it had assisted some 25,000 people in Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine in 2022-23, according to a report last year in The Moscow Times. Authorities arrested Geisler in February 2024 and later charged her with treason and aiding terrorist activities over a post they said she made on Instagram calling for donations to Ukraine's Azov Battalion. Geisler denied any wrongdoing, and her lawyer said she was not the author of the post, according to a trial transcript compiled by Mediazona, an independent Russian outlet. Prosecutors had requested 27 years for Geisler, who is in her late 20s. Mediazona reported that she had asked the court to imprison her for 27 years and one day, so that her prison term could surpass that of Darya Trepova, a Russian woman jailed for delivering a bomb that killed a pro-war blogger in 2023. Trepova's sentence, handed down last year, was the longest given to any woman in modern Russian history. Prosecutions for terrorism, espionage and cooperation with a foreign state have risen sharply in Russia since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine over three years ago. Pervy Otdel, a Russian lawyers' association, says 359 people were convicted of such crimes in 2024.

Pedestrian suffers life-changing injuries in Sherborne crash
Pedestrian suffers life-changing injuries in Sherborne crash

BBC News

time2 hours ago

  • BBC News

Pedestrian suffers life-changing injuries in Sherborne crash

A pedestrian had to be airlifted to hospital after suffering life-changing injuries when she was hit by a Police received reports at midday on Thursday of a crash involving a woman in her 70s and a silver Kia Venga on Cheap Street, driver was not injured and police have appealed for anyone with information, including dashcam footage, to contact road was temporarily closed on what officers described as a "busy street". You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X, or Instagram.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store