After Italian police conducted a manhunt all night in Milan, they have made an arrest in the hit-and-run killing of 87-year-old Italian man Franco Bertolotti. Police report they have taken a 29-year-old Egyptian man into custody.
Yesterday, Bertolotti was crossing an intersection at Via Fratelli Bronzetti and Via Melloni when he was struck by a large white van, with the driver dragging his victim 10 meters. The suspect initially got out to check on the victim, then got into his vehicle and sped away.
When police and emergency responders arrived on scene, the victim was already in critical condition and suffered from multiple injuries, according to Italian news outlet Imolaoggi.it.
The elderly man died in Policlinico Hospital despite medical staff working hard to keep him alive.
Milan police say they were able to trace the man through his cell phone. They saw that someone at that intersection turned off their phone immediately after the hit-and-run, which the Italian police believed was an attempt by the perpetrator to avoid detection. The police launched a manhunt for that specific phone number and arrested the Egyptian suspect in Segrate, just outside Milan.
The Egyptian man is now being charged with vehicular homicide and failure to render aid.
