Woman dies 69 days after driver plows into pedestrians in Modena, Italy.
NEWS:
A 55-year-old woman died 69 days after a driver plowed a car into pedestrians in central Modena, Italy, turning the May 16, 2026 attack into a fatal case more than two months after it was captured on video.
Monica Esposito died on July 22 at the Civil Hospital of Baggiovara in Modena. Health authorities said she never regained consciousness after suffering critical injuries when she was struck during the attack on Via Emilia Centro.
Esposito had initially been admitted to the intensive care unit at Maggiore Hospital in Bologna. She was later transferred to intensive care in Baggiovara, where her condition eventually deteriorated irreversibly despite medical and surgical treatment.
Her family authorized organ donation in accordance with wishes she had previously expressed.
The attack occurred shortly before 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 16, in the historic center of Modena.
Video footage records a gray Citroën C3 traveling at high speed through Via Emilia Centro and striking people along the street. The vehicle hits people on one side of the roadway, continues forward and then veers toward another group before its path ends against a storefront.
The footage directly establishes that the car was driven into pedestrians. Subsequent judicial findings described the movements of the vehicle as deliberate and directed toward areas where more people were present.
Seven people were reported struck by the car. A separate bystander suffered a knife wound during the confrontation that followed.
Authorities identified the driver as Salim El Koudri, 31, an Italian citizen of Moroccan family origin who was living in Ravarino, in the province of Modena.
After the Citroën stopped against a store window, El Koudri got out and attempted to leave the area. Several people pursued him.
Luca Signorelli, one of the men who chased him, was injured in the head with a knife during the confrontation. Signorelli and other bystanders managed to restrain El Koudri until police took him into custody.
Initial medical reports described four people as seriously injured.
Among them was a 69-year-old German woman who suffered catastrophic injuries when the car struck her near the end of its path. Both of her legs were severed in the impact. She underwent surgery and was initially listed in extremely serious condition.
A 53-year-old Polish woman also required multiple operations and remained in serious condition during the first days after the attack.
Esposito and her 55-year-old husband were taken to Maggiore Hospital in Bologna. Both suffered major trauma. Her husband gradually stabilized and was later reported to be out of immediate danger, while Esposito remained critically ill.
Other patients treated after the incident included a man with facial injuries, a 22-year-old woman with head trauma, the bystander with the knife wound and a man treated after suffering a panic attack.
Investigators found no immediate evidence that El Koudri was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Authorities also reported no evidence linking him to an extremist organization. Although terrorism investigators initially examined the circumstances because of the nature of the attack, a terrorism aggravating factor had not been applied in the criminal case in the subsequent judicial updates reviewed before publication.
El Koudri had previously received mental health treatment. Investigators learned that he had been treated for a schizoid personality disorder at a mental health center in Castelfranco Emilia.
That history did not result in an immediate judicial finding that the attack was caused by his psychiatric condition.
On May 19, a preliminary investigations judge validated his detention and ordered that he remain in custody. The judge stated that, at that stage, there was no evidence establishing that the conduct resulted from his previously diagnosed disorder or that he had been incapable of understanding or controlling his actions when the attack occurred.
The judicial reconstruction also concluded that the car had been directed toward locations where it could strike multiple people. The court cited both the risk that the suspect could flee and the risk of another offense when maintaining his detention.
Prosecutors initially proceeded with allegations that included the Italian offense of strage, a serious mass-casualty crime, and aggravated bodily injury.
The question of El Koudri's mental condition remained legally important, however.
On May 29, a judge approved a request for a formal forensic psychiatric examination. Experts were tasked with determining his mental condition at the time of the attack, whether he is competent to participate in criminal proceedings and whether he represents a continuing danger.
The formal evidentiary process began in court on June 11. Psychiatric examinations involving five experts began at Sant'Anna prison in Modena on July 14.
No final publicly reported conclusion from that forensic psychiatric evaluation had been located in the latest case material reviewed before publication.
Esposito's death on July 22 significantly changed the criminal consequences of the attack.
Her death was officially attributed to the injuries she suffered on May 16. Defense counsel said after her death that an intentional homicide allegation would be added to the already serious criminal case against El Koudri.
Esposito had remained unconscious throughout the 69 days between the attack and her death.
Modena formally declared a day of mourning for July 28, when her funeral was held at the Abbey of Nonantola. Municipal flags were lowered and city-organized public events were suspended for the day.
The video remains direct evidence of the physical attack itself. It records the car moving at high speed through the city center, striking pedestrians and continuing toward other people before crashing.
The footage does not establish a motive, psychiatric diagnosis or ideological explanation for the attack. Those issues depend on the criminal investigation, court proceedings and forensic psychiatric examination.
As of the latest publicly available developments reviewed for this report, El Koudri remained in custody, Monica Esposito had become the sole confirmed fatality from the May 16 attack, and the court-ordered psychiatric evaluation was underway.
News story written by DarkGore.
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