A transport company owner died when the coach he was driving plunged into an icy river.
Only the driver, Nicola Di Carlo, was on board the coach.
He had had a group of primary school kids on a trip earlier in the day.
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Horror footage taken by a bystander shows how the vehicle reversed, tilted, and fell upright into the chilly water.
Dozens of locals and tourists were strolling along the riverfront at the time, but luckily, few were in the coach’s path.
Three pedestrians were struck by the vehicle as it rolled towards the edge of the River Po, in Turin, Italy.
One told local media: “It hit us while reversing, then struck the wall and plunged into the river.
“We were on foot. The bus just brushed past my aunt and cousin. They got away with just a few bruises.”
It happened late yesterday (26 Mar) afternoon.
The emergency services were called to the scene, but rowers from a club along the riverbank were the first to respond.
They jumped into the water and managed to pull Di Carlo, 64, from the vehicle, as reported by Need To Know.
Witness Filippo Camedda told local media: “The rowers reacted really quickly. We gave them a hammer to break the coach windows.
“It seems he was already dead by the time they got him to shore.”
The whole drama “happened in a fraction of a second”, another witness said.
Di Carlo owned the transport company in question and had driven the pupils from Milan earlier that day.
Despite attempts to resuscitate him, his heart never restarted.
Firefighters recovered the coach that night and it will be examined as part of the investigation.
The autopsy results are pending, but the prime suspicion is that Di Carlo suffered a medical emergency.
Turin mayor Stefano Lo Russo said: “The consequences could have been even worse.
“Right now, our thoughts and sympathies go out to the victim’s family.”
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