Don Nicola D'Onghia, the 54-year-old parish priest investigated for aggravated road homicide by hit-and-run and failure to provide assistance, has been arrested and placed under house arrest in relation to the accident in which 32-year-old Fabiana Chiarappa died on April 2.

The woman was riding her motorbike on provincial road 172, between Turi and Putignano, when she lost control of the vehicle and ended up off the road, hitting a dry stone wall.

The parish priest had said that that evening, while he was driving along that road, he had heard a noise coming from the floor of the car but he had not noticed either the motorbike or the girl.

From the tests carried out on the priest's Fiat Bravo in the days following the accident, the presence of traces of blood on the priest's car emerged. The accident would have occurred around 8:28 p.m. And the priest, around 8:30 p.m., shortly after hearing the noise, would have stopped at a service station to check for any damage to the car, before getting back in the car and returning home.

The priest said he learned of the accident from the press the next day and for this reason, after consulting his lawyers, he decided to tell the police everything.

The order ordering house arrest was carried out by the Carabinieri. The precautionary measure was ordered by the Court of Bari for "the risk of both tampering with evidence and repeating the crimes", as highlighted in a note.

(Online Union)