32 convicted in Genoa bridge collapse after eight years

An Italian court on Thursday convicted the former CEO of Italy's main highway operator and 29 others in the 2018 Genoa highway bridge collapse that killed 43 people, a disaster that exposed serious lapses in the maintenance of Italian infrastructure.The former chief executive of highway operator Autostrade per l'Italia, Giovanni Castellucci, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, the highest in the case after four years of trial. Autostrade's former head of maintenance, Michele Donferri Mitelli, received 11 years, while the former CEO of the SPEA engineering company, Antonino Galatà, received five years and six months.In total, 30 people were convicted and handed sentences ranging from 1 year and 11 months to 12 years. Others were either found not guilty, or lesser charges had expired under the statute of limitations.Victims verdictsDozens of family members packed the courtroom as Chief Judge Paolo Lepri read the verdicts. Many broke down in tears."I lost my sister, her two children, my brother-in-law and even their little dog. That's where my determination comes from — to make sure they receive justice and that their deaths were not in vain," said Egle Possetti, who heads a committee to preserve the memory of the bridge victims.Prosecutors argued that years of maintenance neglect led to the collapse on Aug. 14, 2018, when a 200-metre section of the Morandi highway bridge gave way during a rainstorm, sending dozens of vehicles plunging to the ground. Images of the collapse shocked Italy on one of its busiest travel days.Lawyers for the victims said the trial showed that warning signs about defects in the pylon that collapsed had existed for decades. "From 1993 onward, the problem was known. We had three identical pylons. Two had already shown the same defect, and no one seriously asked whether the third one had it as well," said Raffaele Caruso, a lawyer representing victims.The current Autostrade chief executive issued a public apology, saying: "The actions and decisions of some people left indelible scars. Offering today the apology that was not made then is, for us, a moral imperative."Autostrade and its subsidiary reached a deal on corporate liability, paying roughly 30 million euros ($34 million) in financial penalties, sparing the companies from a trial as corporate defendants.A new bridge designed by Genoa-born architect Renzo Piano opened in 2020, spanning a memorial to the victims.Catch the latest world news and top headlines. Download the TOI App.