All the suspicious deaths occurred while or soon after the patients were transported in an ambulance driven by the 27-year-old man, lawyers of the victims told the Guardian. Investigative sources told the ANSA state news agency they believe the man, who worked for the Italian Red Cross but has now been suspended, may have administered harmful substances to the patients during transfers between hospitals and care homes in the Emilia-Romagna region.
There is a general consensus that the majority of people spoken to are very reluctant to call the ambulance service unless it is the only and last resort and the pain is so bad they have no excuse but to go hospital.