A group of thieves, reportedly of South American origin from a nearby Roma camp, were fleeing from Italian police in Rome when they rammed their vehicle into an Italian family traveling in another vehicle on Via Collatina, claiming the lives of the entire family.

The tragedy, involving the death of a mother, father and son in the Quarticciolo neighborhood, occurred just hours after Pope Leo XIV visited the area to meet with residents and “listened to the mothers of drug addicts” in a neighborhood characterized as a “kingdom of the gangs of pushers” currently “waiting for redevelopment.”

Authorities say the incident began at 10:00 p.m. when three men of South American origin, described as specialists in residential and vehicle thefts, failed to comply with a police stop. The suspects fled at “full throttle” in a Toyota Yaris. During the chase, the vehicle crossed into the oncoming lane and struck a Fiat Punto traveling in the opposite direction.

The occupants of the Fiat Punto — 70-year-old Giovanni Battista Ardovini, 64-year-old Patrizia Capraro, and their 42-year-old son, Alessio — were killed. The crash impact was so strong that it reportedly killed the parents instantly, according to Italian news outlet Il Messaggero. Officials stated “the family was exterminated,” noting the parents died at the scene while their son died shortly after being transported to a hospital.

Two of the suspects were injured and remain under guard in the emergency room, while a third accomplice was “handcuffed and immediately arrested by the police.” All three face charges of conspiracy to commit vehicular homicide, resisting a public official, and possession of burglary tools. Investigators discovered screwdrivers and “jammers to neutralize anti-theft devices” inside the suspects’ car.

The crash took place on the eastern outskirts of Rome, near the site of a 2021 pursuit that killed 14-year-old Sheena Lossetto.

Addressing the conduct of the pursuit, the Police Headquarters specified that while one Carabinieri patrol car “lost contact with the fleeing vehicle,” the primary police car remained in pursuit, “albeit at a distance, so as not to generate risks.”

Investigators from the Flying Squad and forensic teams are continuing their inspection of the site. Preliminary findings suggest that “probably due to excessive speed, the driver of the criminals’ car lost control” before driving the wrong way into the path of the victims.