AN ENGLISH teacher has been crushed to death by a bulldozer driver who was allegedly high on cocaine.
Elisa Spadavecchia, 66, was fatally run over by the crazed construction worker as she picked up seashells along a popular Italian beach.
Suspect Lerry Gnoli, 54, has been accused of reversing the deadly vehicle straight over the unaware holidaymaker.
Elisa was crushed to death almost instantly, cops say.
The state her body was discovered in was so gruesome that a lifeguard, who stumbled upon the horrifying scene, became unwell and required hospitalization, as mentioned by Elisa’s former spouse.
Giovanni Sfregola, who shared a three-month grandchild with Elisa, said he has been left in an “ocean of pain” over her tragic death.
Onlookers say the bulldozer had no warning lights or audible reversing alerts as it ploughed into the retired grandma.
Gnoli had been operating the 15-tonne tracked bulldozer following a long night spent on the dunes at Pinarella di Cervia beach, located on Italy’s northeastern Adriatic Coast.
He was quickly detained and taken in for questioning as police discovered he was high on cocaine at the time through routine tests.
Gnoli has now been charged with manslaughter and labour violations as it emerged he had been banned from driving in 2023.
Police enforced a road ban on the suspect after he was found to have killed an 83-year-old man in his car while also under the influence of cocaine.
Despite the driving restrictions, he was still allowed to operate a construction vehicle as long as he avoided public roads.
Gnoli was a part of the bulldozer team on the beach who was put in charge of flattening part of the area for redevelopment.
But horrified witnesses said he strayed off the planned construction site and stormed through the packed beach where Elisa was spending her holiday.
Elisa was a beloved English teacher at Liceo Scientifico Quadri in Vicenza before her early retirement a few years ago before Covid.
Several touching tributes flooded in for Elisa after her death was confirmed.
Colleague Anna Spata said: “Very sad news. I remember Elisa with affection and esteem.”
Cinzia Zanesco added she was “speechless” over the news and knew her former colleague was “enjoying this phase of life” with her young granddaughter.
She said: “It’s crazy that she was killed in this way, it doesn’t make sense.
“From one day to the next, from one moment to the next your life can change and everything can disappear. We have to realise this.”
A third heartbroken colleague in Elena Ruffato said: “We are dismayed. We are speechless in the face of a tragedy.”
Investigations into Elisa’s death are ongoing.
It’s crazy that she was killed in this way, it doesn’t make sense
Cinzia Zanesco
It comes as another drunk tourist was arrested after stealing a bulldozer and flipping it down a quarry in Majorca last year.
Police arrested a 26-year-old German man following the incident in the party resort of S’Arenal, near the island’s capital Palma.
A reckless tourist narrowly escaped death when he toppled a 25-tonne, €350,000 (£295,000) machine at the brink of a steep drop in a quarry he had trespassed into, close to his lodging.
He was held in custody after running to a nearby house covered in blood to seek help.
