American soldier arrested in Italy for hitting and killing 15-year-old with car while ‘drunk’ 

An American soldier is under house arrest in Italy after striking a 15-year-old boy with her car while intoxicated on Sunday – killing the teen instantly.

The fatal incident transpired Sunday at around 2:30 am local time, authorities say, in the northern town of Porcia.

The unnamed 20-year-old female service woman allegedly lost control of her vehicle while heading back to US Air Force Aviano Air Base, where she is stationed, after a night out.

Meanwhile, walking home from a summer party on a nearby cycling path was 15-year-old Giovanni Zanier, who was accompanied by a group of friends who witnessed the accident.

The soldier lost control of her car as she sped around a roundabout, and crossed a low median, striking the group. Police and witnesses say the woman, who has been identified only as B.J.N. in accordance with Italian privacy laws, had been speeding.

The crash saw Zanier, whose mother is now in mourning and calling for the American to be tried in Italy, thrown several feet into the air and die on impact.

The driver, meanwhile, suffered minor injuries from broken glass and the air bag deploying during the crash. Her blood alcohol level, however, was four times the legal limit, according to investigators. None of the other teens were hurt.

Investigators say the woman stayed on the scene to try to offer assistance until first responders arrived. She was first taken into custody by Italian lawmen, but was released to US authorities due to her military status. 

She is now under house arrest inside the US Air Force base facing potential vehicular homicide charge, pending a police investigation into the incident.

Local prosecutors, meanwhile, are fighting to ensure the soldier is not sent back to the US for trial, and is instead tried for the crime within the country – if local authorities deem that she is criminally responsible for the boy’s death.

The child’s mother, 48-year-old Barbara Scandella, is adamant she should, after learning that the woman was over the legal drinking limit and that she had been driving at high speeds before snuffing out her son’s life.

‘She was completely drunk. That’s why she was driving like that, to the point of climbing over the roundabout before killing Giovanni,’ the mourning mom told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

She added that she had dropped off Giovanni at the party, which was a short walk from their home, at around 11:30 by car.

She said the teen was supposed to walk home and that the family were used to him being out late at night, citing that he had been a responsible and serious son.

‘Yes we were used to him being out at that time. But we were not worried. We knew he was going to the party with friends and the journey was short. He was a serious kid, he had never given us any trouble and we had complete confidence.’

She said she learned of the tragedy at roughly 4 am, when she received a call from a whom whose grandson attended the same party as Giovanni.

‘She told me that Giovanni had had an accident and had been taken to hospital. She added that the carabinieri would be coming to my house soon,’ she told the paper. 

‘I didn’t wait for them and left immediately.’

Upon arriving at the hospital, a team of doctors notified her of Giovanni’s death. She said she then became distraught, and had to be medicated and driven home by her husband due to the magnitude of the news.

‘At that point my memories became muddled,’ she told the outlet. ‘I found myself at home because I was in no condition to drive.’

She added that she is irate and traumatized over the incident – particularly because she believes that her son will not get the justice he deserves, due to the fact that the servicewoman’s case could likely be handed over to US Armed Forces.

‘I am outraged. And I have no faith in a real trial because the woman who killed my son is a soldier on the USAF base and therefore America will do everything to protect her, despite the evidence of the crime committed.’

She added: ‘Don’t you think that when faced with such a dramatic case, with alcohol over the limit and high speed, defending the culprit is almost impossible? 

‘The truth is that in these areas the Americans do what they want and go unpunished. I fear it will be like that this time too. It is a shame, an injustice.’

The mom went on to reveal that police had told her before the accident, a motorist passed the soldier on the road ‘zigzagging’ and ‘driving like a madwoman.’ 

‘He shined his hazards several times to no avail,’ she recounted. ‘Then in the rear-view mirror he saw the car go straight ahead at the roundabout before crashing into my son and killing him.’

Mourners Monday flocked to the site of the crash to leave flowers on the bike path for the fallen youngster.

Town officials said the bike trail the students were walking on was unlit – an effort by the city to save energy. There is no indication, however, that better lighting would have prevented the accident, since the car illegally crossed into the bike lane after going over the median.

Pordenone Prosecutor Raffaele Tito told Corriere della Sera Sunday that if their investigation yields an indictment, US authorities could invoke jurisdiction under an Italian-U.S. military treaty and oversee the servicewoman’s trial – and potentially scrap it.

Scandella’s concerns could be influenced by another tragedy involving Americans from the Aviano base who were not prosecuted for their crime. 

In 1999 a U.S. Marine jet clipped a cable running over a mountainside while taking off from the base, sending a cable car plunging 20 Europeans to their deaths. The pilot was not charged with a crime, despite facing a potential court martial and a similar investigation.

Speaking to Italy’s state-owned public broadcaster RAI, Tito added that the Italian Ministry of Justice will ask that the American woman be tried in Italy.

The US Air Force said Monday that it was participating in police’s investigation.

The servicewoman currently remains under house at the Aviano base, where she will remain until the probe concludes. Her identity has yet to be revealed by police.