A 32-year-old Italian man has been charged with manslaughter after two Irish women were killed in a hit-and-run incident in Rome earlier this week.
Friedrich Vernarelli allegedly killed tourists Elizabeth Anne Gubbins (27), from Lisnagry, Co Limerick, and Mary Claire Collins (28), from Athy, Co Kildare at a pedestrian crossing in Rome city centre early on Tuesday morning.
Mr Vernarelli is currently under house arrest following the accident but public prosecutor Andrea Mosca asked for his imprisonment on the grounds that new information had become available.
When stopped by police on Tuesday morning, Mr Vernarelli refused to take a breathalyser test. Doctors later found that his alcohol intake was four and half times above the legal limit for driving.
Vernarelli has been charged with manslaughter and failure to stop and offer assistance.
Drunken driving may be added to the charges when a judge delivers her verdict tomorrow on the request by the prosecutor for preventative detention.
Relatives of the two women travelled to Rome today to begin repatriating their remains, a process that may take several days.
Mr Vernarelli's father, Roberto, a former policeman and local mayor, said today his sone had made "a very grave mistake" and would have to pay for it to the last.