The E45 dual carriageway is one of the least popular routes among hauliers, due to its narrow carriageway, difficult winter weather conditions, potholes and, as highlighted by the recent ruling issued by the Tribunale Civile di Forlì (Civil Court of Forlì), also the risk of vehicles falling from a viaduct. The incident occurred in March 2017, when Fulvio Costarelli, a 65-year-old lorry driver from Foligno, was travelling along the E45 towards Cesena at the wheel of an articulated lorry. Near a viaduct in the municipality of Mercato Saraceno, a tyre burst, causing him to lose control of the vehicle. The lorry swerved, struck the viaduct’s safety barriers and broke through them before plunging into the void. The driver became trapped in the cab and died despite rescue efforts.
Nine years after the accident, in February 2026, the Tribunale Civile di Forlì (Civil Court of Forlì) ordered Anas to compensate the victim’s wife and two children. According to the daily newspaper La Nazione, the judge awarded total damages of €700,000: €300,000 to the wife and €200,000 to each of the children. The ruling is a first-instance decision and may be appealed by Anas.
According to local media reports, the central issue in the civil proceedings was the assessment of the inadequacy of the safety barriers installed on the E45 viaduct at Mercato Saraceno. The judge found a causal link between that inadequacy and the fatal outcome: although the barriers represented the last line of defence in the event of a vehicle swerving, they failed to prevent the articulated lorry from leaving the carriageway after the tyre burst.
During the hearing, as reported by La Nazione, it emerged that the barriers dated back to a period prior to the introduction of the first specific technical standards in the field, which were brought in from the late 1980s. This aspect was significant in the Court’s assessment, which framed the issue within the regulatory framework governing the inspection and possible replacement of road safety barriers. Assisted by lawyer Maria Antonietta Belluccini of Foligno, the lorry driver’s family was thus able to demonstrate, at least at first instance, that the protections installed on the viaduct did not meet the standards introduced subsequently.
