Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
ROME / NEWS – A manhunt is under way for the hit-and-run rider who in Rome knocked down and killed Roberto Cervellati, a respected physicist and researcher aged 92. The crash happened on a cycle path in the capital: the man on the e-scooter fled the scene after the violent collision, leaving no trace and without stopping to help. Rushed to the Gemelli university hospital, the 92-year-old died from his serious injuries.
Officers from the Rome Municipal Police (Prati group) are investigating the tragedy as they work to reconstruct exactly what happened. Detectives are now trawling through CCTV footage from the area to identify the vehicle and trace the rider. The Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office has formally opened an investigation file on charges of causing death by dangerous driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident.
Who was Roberto Cervellati: pioneer of Italian research in Antarctica
Cervellati was a physicist and long-serving researcher at Enea who played a leading role in Italian scientific expeditions to the polar continent. Over his long career he took part in seven expeditions to Antarctica, also serving as expedition leader.
As part of the National Antarctic Research Programme (PNRA) he carried out key scientific coordination and operational management roles, aligning researchers’ needs with the complex logistical challenges posed by the extreme climate of the South Pole.
From 1992 to 2006 he represented Italy on the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), the international scientific committee for Antarctic research, and also directed the sector tasked with producing the geographical dictionary of the continent. In 2006, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to science, the “Cervellati Glacier”, a 9.5-kilometre glacier in Ellsworth Land, was named after him.
