Pictures have emerged of a pregnant woman who was seriously injured after being hit by a six-stone Rottweiler that fell from a third-floor window.
27-year-old Ludovica Caprino was walking with her mother through a busy street in Rome when the dog fell to the ground. Although she and her baby were seriously injured, they are expected to survive.
The eight-month-old pet – named Cody – suffered fatal injuries after falling about 10 metres, and passers-by were shocked by the scene, with many bursting into tears.
Ludovica, who lives in Lausanne, Switzerland, was on holiday in the Italian capital visiting family with her husband when the drama unfolded last Friday in Via Frattina, one of the city’s most chic streets and lined with designer shops .
Ludovica – who also celebrated her birthday – was rushed to hospital by paramedics and treated by doctors who told MailOnline that she is ‘recovering’ and able to ‘sit up and eat’, adding ‘she and the baby were very lucky
Pregnant woman Ludovica Caprino, who was seriously injured after being hit by a Rottweiler weighing six bricks that fell from a third-floor window
Ludovica Caprino, 27, is in hospital after the accident on Via Frattina in Rome
The eight-month-old dog – named Cody – suffered fatal injuries after falling about 10 metres
Cody’s and his owner Emilia Mikela Pawlak, who said: ‘I just don’t know what happened’
Some witnesses reported thinking it was a gunshot when the animal hit the ground.
L’Unione Sarda said bystanders and store employees rushed to help the pregnant woman, while others tried to help the dog.
Ludovica’s shocked mother – who was with her and witnessed what happened – said: ‘At first I thought we were in a gunfight. There was a huge bang and then out of the corner of my eye I saw something hit the pavement.
‘After about a second I realized it was a dog and that it had hit my daughter. The dog just missed me because I was a few steps ahead. I then heard people screaming and I looked at my daughter and she was covered in blood.
‘She didn’t seem conscious, and I thought she was dead. I tried to get her to recover, and then she tried to get up, but I told her to stay on the ground.
‘Ludovica was in bad shape and then the dog’s owner came into the road and started crying for her dog, even though there was an injured person there.
‘My son-in-law, who is a doctor, quickly came to us and calmed us down straight away, even though we still didn’t fully understand how a dog could have fallen out of a window.
‘He got into the ambulance with her, but I still don’t even know how a dog can fall out of a window.
“It’s absurd that someone can walk through the center of Rome and something like this happens, but now that the dog is dead I don’t know what will happen.”
Some witnesses reported thinking it was a gunshot when the animal hit the ground
Cody’s owner Emilia Mikela Pawlak – who visited Ludovica in the hospital
Cody’s owner Emilia Mikela Pawlak – who visited Ludovica in hospital – said: ‘I just don’t know what happened.
‘I was in the bathroom and Cody was always sitting next to me, then I heard a really loud bang and people screaming.
‘The lady from the ground floor shop called me and told me to come down because Cody had fallen out the window and hit someone and when I got there I saw the woman on the floor and my dog lifeless on the ground. ‘
Emilia’s partner Gabriele has protested that the dog did not actually hit Ludovica, citing eyewitnesses he spoke to after the traumatic incident.
“The next day we spoke to several eyewitnesses, including a person who was standing next to the lady at the time of the incident,” he told Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
“She said the dog didn’t even touch her, but out of fear, when she saw it fall, she ran back and hit her head.”
He argued that the dog would have completely crushed her if it had landed on her.
Emilia’s partner Gabriele has protested that the dog did not actually hit Ludovica
Gabriele argued that the dog would have completely crushed Ludovica if it had landed on her
He suggested that Luovica’s injuries were not consistent with this version of events, and that photos show her and the dog in the aftermath “three or four meters apart.”
Emilia – who also has several cats – added: ‘Cody was a stray cat I adopted from a kennel about a year ago.
‘I have told the police that I am willing to take responsibility, but I am not sure what they can do. It’s not like I threw the dog out the window, it was an accident, I couldn’t do anything.
‘When my partner and I came down and saw Cody on the road we wanted to take him to the vet because he looked like he was still alive, but the police wouldn’t let me move him and it took two hours for the vet to move him . arrived and then it was too late.’
She continued: “It’s getting crazy now that I’ve received death threats about what happened and I’m worried about my family now, I have two small children. I just hope the lady gets better; I left my details with her family.
‘I feel completely responsible for what happened, and I have thought about it a lot. Some people have told me that Cody didn’t actually hit her, but came very close and as a result, she was shocked by what happened and fell and hit her head on the ground.
“But like I said, if there are consequences, I’m willing to face them. While I don’t agree with the police theory that Cody was chasing a cat, he wasn’t like that at all, he wasn’t chasing the cats. .’
A 27-year-old is in hospital on Friday after the accident in Via Frattina, one of the chicest streets in central Rome (file photo)
A police spokesperson in Rome told MailOnline that officers had attended the scene and also carried out checks at the apartment where Emilia lives and were still investigating whether any charges will be brought against her.
Ludovica works as a governance and integrity manager at World Rowing’s headquarters in Lausanne, where a colleague told MailOnline: ‘We have heard what happened and wish her all the best.’
In April, an Italian woman was ‘torn apart’ her brother’s Rottweiler while trying to feed him.
Patrizia La Marca, 53, had stopped by her brother’s house in the seaside resort of Ventimiglia in the afternoon to care for his dog when it attacked her.
Neighbors heard her calling for help and first responders found her in a pool of blood, with gruesome bites to her head, arms, chest and shoulders.
It took first responders two hours to help La Marca due to the dog’s aggressive nature, with officers ultimately shooting and wounding him before taking him to a city kennel, il Giornale reported.