rome
—
A 27-year-old ambulance driver is under criminal investigation for allegedly killing at least five elderly people while transporting them in his ambulance in the northern Italian city of Forli, a spokesperson for the local public prosecutor’s office told CNN.
All five patients suffered cardiac arrest, a spokesperson for the Forlé public prosecutor’s office said. He added that all are elderly and receiving treatment for serious illnesses and require non-emergency transportation between their homes or nursing homes and hospitals or clinics.
A spokesperson said there was a lack of trust in the ambulance service that employed the young man after four patients transported in his ambulance died between February and November 2025.
Police worked with Carabinieri police to install hidden cameras and recording devices in the rear of the vehicle.
Later that month, a fifth patient, an 85-year-old woman, died while being transferred from a cardiac hospital to a rehabilitation center.
A spokesperson for the Carabinieri told CNN that she suffered a cardiac arrest during transport and was pronounced dead in the ambulance.
Authorities conducted an autopsy on the woman and handed the investigation over to prosecutors, a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office told CNN.
The ambulance driver, whose name has not been released and who has not been arrested, was part of a two-person team responsible for driving non-emergency ambulances and caring for patients being transported.
Defense lawyer Gloria Parisi said he had worked for the ambulance service since 2023.
Ms Parigi said her client had had his ambulance service suspended.
“He is shocked by the new events,” she told local media. “He declares his innocence in the matter that has changed his life forever. He has nothing to hide, so he has presented himself to the judicial authorities. This is why he has requested a trial from the public prosecutor’s office.”
A Carabinieri spokesperson said all of the deaths occurred during or shortly after being transported, while the suspect was in the back of the ambulance with the patient.
“The deaths may have been caused by poison or other insidious means,” a prosecutor’s spokesman said, adding that the suspect could be charged with multiple voluntary murders this week.
