Five-seat car carrying nine teens plunges into canal as three athletes killed

Five-seat car carrying nine teens plunges into canal as three athletes killed Two 17-year old boys, Lorenzo Benin and Riccardo Provasi, and Camilla Copparoni, who recently turned 18, were killed after the Audi A2 they were riding in with six other people crashed into a canal Three teenage athletes have died after the car they were riding in, which had nine people crammed into it, crashed into a canal after an 18th birthday party. The group had been returning home after spending the night celebrating a friend’s 18th birthday at a club in Lainate, Italy, when disaster struck. Two 17-year old boys, Lorenzo Benin and Riccardo Provasi, and a girl who had recently turned 18, Camilla Copparoni, were killed in the tragic crash. Nine people, aged between 17 and 19, squeezed into the five-seater Audi A2 before the devastating collision. Police believe the 19-year-old driver lost control near a bend on a dark stretch of road at around 5:30am yesterday. The Audi smashed into a tree before flipping over and ending up at the bottom of a canal in Senago. Camilla was pulled from the vehicle alive but died shortly before reaching hospital. The bodies of the two 17-year-olds were discovered by fire service divers - they had become trapped inside the car. The six other occupants, who are from nearby Paderno Dugnano and Cusano Milanino, survived with fractures and bruises. The driver, Gabriele Popovici of nearby Cormano, tested positive for alcohol, with a blood alcohol level of 1.61 g/l. The legal limit for new drivers in Italy is zero. He was taken to a hospital in Milan under police guard, in a state of shock. Police have said they also believe excessive speed may have been a factor in the crash. Most of the occupants of the vehicle are long-time friends linked through the amateur football club Cusano Calcio. They will be questioned once their condition allows. Camilla played volleyball for Jolly Palazzolo Milanese. The three victims who died all lived in Paderno Dugnano. A cousin said: “She was beautiful, reserved. Like a doll, the way she was brought up together with her brother. “She had just come back from a week away on holiday with school friends – no one could have imagined a tragedy like this.” Lorenzo and Riccardo, along with driver Gabriele, played football for the amateur club Cob 91 in Cormano. The two boys who died also studied Finance and Marketing together. Gabriele has since been arrested on suspicion of aggravated multiple vehicular manslaughter and will also be questioned.