A priest has been arrested on suspicion of killing a woman in a hit-and-run.
Fabiana Chiarappa, 32, was riding her motorcycle when she lost control of the bike, hit a wall and fell into the street.
About 20 seconds later she was hit by a car and dragged down the road.
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Father Nicola D’Onghia said he remembered hearing a “bump” underneath his car on the night of the incident, but claimed he didn’t know what had caused it.
Police have now arrested D’Onghia on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, aggravated by fleeing the scene and failing to seek help for the victim.
Detectives say the priest was using his mobile phone just seconds before the accident between Turi and Putignano, near Bari, Italy, on 2 April.
They believe he was not only distracted but also driving too fast as the road was narrow, dimly lit, and the tarmac was wet at the time.
The authorities believe D’Onghia was lying when he told the police he thought he had only hit “a stone or a rock”.
He claimed he only realised what had happened when he read the news the next day.
Judge Nicola Bonante told local media: “It is not possible that the 54-year-old priest mistook the victim’s body for a stone, given that it was first run over by the Fiat Bravo and then dragged for several metres along the tarmac.”
D’Onghia was caught on CCTV as he stopped at a petrol station about 200m from the accident site to check his front bumper for damage.
After seeing the flashing lights of the emergency services as they neared the scene, he got back in his car and drove home.
According to Fabiana’s post-mortem, she died from a head injury caused by the priest’s hatchback, as reported by Need To Know.
Fabiana was from Cellamare and worked as an emergency care assistant in Turi.
She also played for a local women’s rugby team.
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