Pietro Stefanoni, 56, a Tuscan businessman, who surrendered himself to Italian police earlier today (October 7), in the October 2 hit-and-run accident that killed American tour guide, Allison Owens, 23, was questioned for several hours by magistrates. Stefanoni told authorities he fell asleep at the wheel on Sunday when he fatally struck Allison Owens, 23, from Columbus, OH.
Police said today that they tracked down Stefanoni's Volvo by analyzing speed camera footage of the road and green paint chips on the guardrail near where Owens' body was found — a canal close to a busy state highway running through the town of San Giovanni Valdarno, between Florence and Arezzo.
COMMENT: Stefanoni's vehicle was impounded Friday after police located it in Tuscany. He said it had already been repaired by mechanics, and that the damage from the collision had been "substantial."
It does not reflect well on Stefanoni's character and integrity for him to have had the car repaired before reporting the matter to the police. The fact that he had already ordered it repaired without notifying police, suggests that he never would have turned himself in if the police had not located the vehicle. The Owens' family lawyer, Valentino Durante, is withholding comment until prosecutors make a decision about possible charges in the case.
