VERONA. Nine people were injured during a stuntman’s performance at Veronafiere, during the opening day of the Motor Bike Expo. The accident occurred around 1.30pm. From an initial reconstruction it seems that a car ended up close to the stands and hit the barriers, causing about ten spectators who were watching the show to fall. People would have suffered bruises in the fall, but no one would have been hit by the car.
The Suem 118 health workers intervened on site with 5 ambulances, as well as the Police and Carabinieri. 118 reports injuries in code green and code yellow, none of them in serious condition, who were transported to the Paolo Confortini hospital in Borgo Trento and to the hospitals of Negrar and Villafranca in Verona. The most serious one has a fractured wrist. Another 5 spectators were treated on site.
The show at Verona Motor Bike ends badly: the stuntman’s car against the spectators
At the moment all performances have been suspended and the local police of Verona have subjected the area to evidential seizure.
In some videos of the accident circulating online, the stuntman can be seen driving a modified car while standing outside the window. In clips lasting just a few seconds, the vehicle is seen turning in a circle, performing “drifts” around the track, separated from the spectators only by two rows of simple barriers. The man driving then lost control of the car and plowed into the crowd, causing the iron guards to collapse on them, triggering panic.
The Motor Bike Expo, the international motorcycle show, started today, and if there are no measures after this accident, it will continue until January 21st. The event, conceived and organized by Paola Somma and Francesco Agnoletto, has been hosted at Veronafiere for 16 years. The 2024 edition occupies 100 thousand square meters of exhibition space, with 700 exhibitors distributed in 7 pavilions, 6 external areas reserved for competitions, shows, exhibitions and a calendar with around 150 appointments, events and meetings during the three days. According to the organizers, it would be “the second fair in the whole of Europe in the motorcycle sector, the first in the world in the custom sector”.
