Fatal crash in San Basilio: Salerno truck driver faces trial

Taranto – More than two and a half years after the tragedy that claimed the lives of Inna Aprilova and her son Alexander Pastore, the criminal proceedings for the accident on State Road 100 enter their decisive phase. The preliminary hearing of the Taranto Court, Pompeo Carriere, has scheduled the preliminary hearing for October 20, 2026, for a 27-year-old resident of Buonabitacolo, in the province of Salerno. The Prosecutor's Office has requested a committal for trial on charges of vehicular homicide. The prosecutor's request is dated November 24, 2025.

The dynamics of the crash

The tragic accident occurred on the afternoon of April 16, 2024, along the Strada Statale 100 Taranto-Bari, at kilometer 52+500, in the locality of San Basilio, in the Mottola area. This stretch of road had long been reported as particularly dangerous and had been the scene of other serious accidents in previous years.
That day, the Kia Sportage driven by Inna Aprilova, 41, of Bulgarian origin, was also traveling with her husband and their son Alexander Pastore, 12, a goalkeeper for the Asd Calcio Bari under-12 team.

From the opposite direction, a Scania tractor-trailer driven by the 27-year-old who is on trial today was approaching.

According to the investigators' reconstruction, after taking a left-hand bend the heavy vehicle lost control, going sideways on the road and completely invading the opposite lane.

The impact with the Kia was extremely violent: the car was pushed backward and thrown into the ditch at the side, where it overturned. Death was almost instantaneous for the mother and son, while the father, who was driving at the time, according to initial reports, was seriously injured and was taken to the Santissima Annunziata Hospital in Taranto with critical injuries.

Speed ​​and technical tests

A central element of the investigation concerns data extracted from the truck's tachograph, which reportedly recorded a speed of 90 kilometers per hour immediately before the impact, compared to a speed limit of 50 km/h on that stretch of the highway.

A fact which, according to the prosecution, would have contributed significantly to the loss of control of the heavy vehicle and its subsequent invasion of the oncoming lane.

Compensation and the family's wait

On the civil front, the compensation process has already been concluded: the victims' families have received full compensation thanks to the work of Studio3A-Valore, which assists them. For the relatives of Inna Aprilova and Alexander Pastore, residents of Palagiano, the preliminary hearing on October 20th represents a long-awaited step after a lengthy investigative process.

The 2024 crash also occurred on the edge of the area currently affected by the project to widen and improve safety on State Road 100, which involves the construction of a dual carriageway with two lanes in each direction and the revision of intersections.