Mauro Amendolia & Giuseppe Laganà's Fatal Crash @ Targa Florio 2017 (Aftermath)
- 5 months ago
The 101st edition of the Targa Florio Rally was suspended after the third special stage "Piano Battaglia-1", and the remainder of the rally stages were canceled, in consequence of a fatal accident that resulted in the deaths of two men.
It happened around 11h35 on Friday, 21 April 2017. Midway through the 14.9-kilometer special stage, held on a mountain road in the Madonie Regional Park, the Mini Cooper JWC R1 #29 entered by the Scuderia Messina Racing and driven by Mauro Amendolia-Gemma Amendolia went out of control while travelling at high speed along a straightaway near the small village of Isnello, Petralia Sottana, province of Palermo. The course was treacherous because of the rain, hailstorm and sleet preceding the start of the special stage. The car went off the road on the left side, apparently without braking tumbled in the grass run-off area, covering just a few meters before hitting a large tree. Then it struck a marshal standing on a rock nearly the roadside, and crashed hard into an utility pole. The marshal, Giuseppe Laganà, 56, was killed instantly.
The rescuers who reached the place of accident in a matter of seconds, found the driver Mauro Amendolia, 52, who was already dead. It is believed he suffered sudden illness before the crash.
Aged 56, Giuseppe Laganà, known by family and friends as Pippo, was an excavator driver from Lentini, province of Siracusa. An experienced flagman, he had already served as marshal in the Targa Florio Rally in previous years. He was on duty at the marshal post CP30, along the route of the third special stage. He was survived by his wife Silvana and their three children, Luca, Valentina and Santo.
Mauro Amendolia was an insurance expert and a road accident advisor from Messina. A racing enthusiast, he and his wife Rosaria, née Villari, were talented amateur rally drivers and togheter they managed the Scuderia Messina Racing. The couple had three daughters, Aurora, Gemma and Valentina, who had followed in their father's footsteps, taking part in a number of rallies since 2013. Amendolia was part of the organizing committee of the Rally dei Peloritani, held in province of Messina. In the original entry list of the 2017 Targa Florio Rally, Mauro was listed as navigator and Gemma Amendolia as driver of the white Mini Cooper #29. He was at the wheel of the car at the time of the accident.
R.I.P
It happened around 11h35 on Friday, 21 April 2017. Midway through the 14.9-kilometer special stage, held on a mountain road in the Madonie Regional Park, the Mini Cooper JWC R1 #29 entered by the Scuderia Messina Racing and driven by Mauro Amendolia-Gemma Amendolia went out of control while travelling at high speed along a straightaway near the small village of Isnello, Petralia Sottana, province of Palermo. The course was treacherous because of the rain, hailstorm and sleet preceding the start of the special stage. The car went off the road on the left side, apparently without braking tumbled in the grass run-off area, covering just a few meters before hitting a large tree. Then it struck a marshal standing on a rock nearly the roadside, and crashed hard into an utility pole. The marshal, Giuseppe Laganà, 56, was killed instantly.
The rescuers who reached the place of accident in a matter of seconds, found the driver Mauro Amendolia, 52, who was already dead. It is believed he suffered sudden illness before the crash.
Aged 56, Giuseppe Laganà, known by family and friends as Pippo, was an excavator driver from Lentini, province of Siracusa. An experienced flagman, he had already served as marshal in the Targa Florio Rally in previous years. He was on duty at the marshal post CP30, along the route of the third special stage. He was survived by his wife Silvana and their three children, Luca, Valentina and Santo.
Mauro Amendolia was an insurance expert and a road accident advisor from Messina. A racing enthusiast, he and his wife Rosaria, née Villari, were talented amateur rally drivers and togheter they managed the Scuderia Messina Racing. The couple had three daughters, Aurora, Gemma and Valentina, who had followed in their father's footsteps, taking part in a number of rallies since 2013. Amendolia was part of the organizing committee of the Rally dei Peloritani, held in province of Messina. In the original entry list of the 2017 Targa Florio Rally, Mauro was listed as navigator and Gemma Amendolia as driver of the white Mini Cooper #29. He was at the wheel of the car at the time of the accident.
R.I.P