Falls from the 104 meter bridge: farewell to the restaurateur Palombaro – Pescara

PESCARA. He left the car unlocked on the bridge that connects Caramanico with Salle. A 104 meter long leap into the void that left him no escape: the lifeless body of Pasqualino Palombaroknown to all as Paulwas fished out a few hours later on the bed of the Orta river by the firefighters, after a report from some motorists and received by the police yesterday morning around 9. Historic restaurateur from Tollo, owner of the pizza restaurant “Le Maschere” which since 2021 he had moved from the province of Chieti to Pescara, in Corso Manthoné, keeping the name, he was 55 years old and leaves his wife and a son who studies at university.
The reasons behind a gesture which from an initial reconstruction by the police appear voluntary are unknown. Certainly an epilogue that left the entire community of Tollo, where Palombaro lived, his family and his work colleagues in Pescara in shock, who describe the entrepreneur as a good, calm person, a lover of his work and very linked to one’s affections. The prosecutor on duty, the deputy prosecutor Anna Benigni, is coordinating the investigations. In the next few hours it will be decided whether or not to carry out an autopsy: the body was taken to the morgue of the civil hospital in Pescara, at the disposal of the judicial authorities.
The tragedy occurred yesterday morning before 9am. Paolo Palombaro drove his car to the Salle bridge, which with its 104 meters high is the highest in central Italy and for this reason often used by enthusiasts of bungee jumping for adrenaline-filled leaps into the void. Based on the reconstruction of the Carabinieri of the Compagnia di Popoli, coordinated by the commander Carlo Colantoni, who rushed to the scene after the alarm raised by some motorists, the 55-year-old apparently parked next to the parapet of the bridge surrounded by greenery, in the heart of the Maiella national park, leaving the car unlocked. And then, for reasons that are still being ascertained, he fell over the fence on the side facing Caramanico.
Reporting that something was wrong on that stretch of road, known in the past for suicide incidents, were some motorists who immediately alerted the police yesterday. The suspicions were confirmed upon the arrival of the military who, once on site, immediately noticed the empty vehicle with no one on board, triggering the red alert. The 118 arrived with a medical ambulance from Scafa and with the helicopter, while the firefighters left from Alanno and Pescara, with them also the mountain rescue team.
The lifeless body was then recovered down in the Orta river valley by the firefighters. Once death was confirmed instantly, the body was transported to the morgue for subsequent checks.