PIETRASANTA (Lucca)
He was returning to the valley with the tractor of the company he was a partner in after having carried out some maintenance work on public green spaces. A maneuver done a myriad of times, unaware that yesterday unfortunately for him would be the last. The vehicle, for reasons yet to be ascertained, at a certain point skidded and half overturned after knocking down a fence, crushing him without giving him any escape despite the desperate attempts of the rescuers. Federico Nappi, 32, did not die immediately but fought with all his strength for at least half an hour, screaming at the top of his lungs until his colleagues advised him to breathe slowly and stay calm, giving him courage. But fate wanted the tractor to stop against a large tree, with the young man stuck without being able to free himself, otherwise the vehicle, which weighs at least a ton, probably would have ended up down below and the young man, thrown out, would have saved himself, suffering at worst some trauma. Yet another tragedy at work occurred yesterday at lunchtime in via della Rocca, right next to the historic center of Pietrasanta, on a very steep street that goes from Piazza Duomo up to Rocca di Sala. An area so impervious that it made rescue operations even more difficult for both the firefighters and the Croce Verde di Pietrasanta.
Understandable is the shock of an entire community and the heartbreak of his partner, Francesca Lazzeri, who is five months pregnant. A lover of the gym and with a past as a lifeguard, Federico was a partner in the company “Miglior Verde“ in Pietrasanta, specialized in pruning tall trees, management of public green spaces and irrigation systems. Yesterday morning, on behalf of the Municipality, together with his colleagues he had gone up with the tractor to Rocca di Sala for some maintenance work. The tragedy occurred after the work was finished, around 1:30 p.m. His colleagues walked towards Piazza Duomo, a few hundred meters further down the valley, while Federico went down with the tractor. After the last curve, before the final straight, he lost control of the vehicle. The screams of the young man, who was crying out in pain, were heard by everyone who was down in the square. His colleagues were the first to reach him and reassure him, then the Croce Verde ambulance arrived, the medical car and finally the firefighters. For at least half an hour Federico continued to breathe and talk. Cutting down the tree or using a heavy vehicle to remove the tractor would have taken too long, so the firefighters freed his head after deflating the tractor’s enormous tire. But the 32-year-old had already lost consciousness.
And it is a real emergency, in Tuscany, that of victims at work: in the first five months of 2024 there have been 17 deaths, with the province of Florence leading the way due to the massacre (5 victims) in the collapse of the Esselunga construction site in via Mariti last February 16.
Daniel Masseglia
