On 17 October 2006 at 9:37am local time (07:37 UTC), one Rome Metro train ploughed into another train as it unloaded passengers at the Vittorio Emanuele underground station in the city centre, killing a 30-year-old Italian woman, named Alessandra Lisi, and injuring about 145 others,[1] of which a dozen were reported to be in life-threatening conditions.
The whole Line A was immediately shut down and the area above the station, the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, was cordoned off by police as rescue workers erected a field hospital, where dozens of people were treated.
The injured were gradually transported to various Rome hospitals for further treatment, with the Complesso Ospedaliero San Giovanni - Addolorata, being the nearest, receiving most of them.
[4] Specifically, upon reaching the red light prior to the station the driver would have been authorized by the control centre to "Andare a vista" (go by sight).
This authorization allows drivers to pass red lights, provided they limit their speed to 15 kilometers per hour and are prepared to stop if needed.