In brief
Simone Concas, 19, intentionally drove his Renault Clio into a 21-year-old woman near the Bari Sardo sports field around 18:00 on 22 July, crushing her against a wall and causing severe leg injuries.
The woman's minor brother and her boyfriend Dennis Loi chased Concas on foot to Via Leonardo Da Vinci, where a scuffle ended with Concas stabbed to death; he died roughly 10 minutes after emergency services arrived.
Carabinieri, led by prosecutor Paola Dal Monte, arrested the minor brother in the early hours of 23 July; he is charged with homicide and will be transferred to the Quartucciu juvenile detention centre.
The weapon used in the stabbing reportedly belongs to Dennis Loi, the injured woman's current partner, though Loi told investigators he did not use it against Concas.
La Stampa reports that Concas was fixated on the woman, who did not reciprocate his feelings; investigators are pursuing unrequited romantic interest and jealousy as the central motive.
The initial attack
Around 18:00 on Tuesday, Simone Concas drove his Renault Clio to the area near the sports field in Bari Sardo, a small municipality in the Ogliastra province of Sardinia. According to investigators, he intentionally accelerated and struck a young woman, pinning her between the vehicle and a rocky wall or a planter. The victim, identified by Fanpage as 21-year-old Erika Prunas, suffered severe leg trauma and was airlifted to the Brotzu hospital in Cagliari, where she remains hospitalised. Concas and the woman knew each other; multiple sources describe her as his former girlfriend or the object of unrequited romantic attention.
The chase and fatal stabbing
After the collision, Concas fled on foot, his car too damaged to continue. He was pursued by two people who had been present at the scene: the injured woman's minor brother and her current boyfriend, named by Fanpage as Dennis Loi. The pair caught up with Concas on Via Leonardo Da Vinci. According to Fanpage, the brother opened the car door and a scuffle ensued, during which Concas was stabbed repeatedly. The knife used in the attack reportedly belonged to Dennis Loi, though Loi told investigators he did not wield it against the 19-year-old. Emergency services arrived but Concas died roughly 10 minutes after the first intervention.
“Il coltello utilizzato, secondo quanto emerso finora, sarebbe proprio dell'attuale partner della giovane, ma interrogato avrebbe detto di non aver usato lui l'arma contro il 19enne.”
Overnight arrest
Carabinieri from the Lanusei Company and the Nuoro Provincial Command worked through the night, coordinated by Lanusei prosecutor Paola Dal Monte and the Cagliari Prosecutor's Office. They questioned both young men at the barracks and, by early morning, placed the minor brother under formal arrest as a suspect in the homicide. He is expected to be transferred during the morning to the juvenile detention centre in Quartucciu. The exact role of Dennis Loi remains under investigation; searches were carried out at both men's homes.
Conflicting early reports
Initial accounts, published by ANSA and Tgcom24 shortly after the incident, described a different sequence: a driver striking a couple and then exiting the vehicle to stab the male victim. Those reports were later corrected. Tgcom24 noted that the emerging reconstruction instead points to Concas as the driver who struck the girl and was then chased and killed by her brother and boyfriend. Some early dispatches also gave the injured woman's age as 16 or 22; Fanpage and Il Fatto Quotidiano settle on 21 or 22.
Motive and community reaction
La Stampa reports that Concas had become fixated on the young woman, who did not return his feelings and was happily in a relationship with another local boy. The newspaper describes a "folle piano" (crazy plan) driven by jealousy, quoting murmurs in the village about "attenzioni non gradite" (unwelcome attention). Investigators are treating jealousy and unreciprocated romantic interest as the central line of inquiry. They have interviewed numerous witnesses but have not yet conducted formal interrogations of all parties. The injured woman's account, once she is able to give it, is considered crucial to establishing the full sequence of events.
“Attenzioni non gradite, mormora qualcuno, in un centro dove tutti sanno ma le parole escono sempre a fatica.”
What comes next
The minor suspect faces a homicide charge and will appear before the juvenile court in Cagliari. Prosecutors are working to clarify whether one or both pursuers inflicted the fatal wounds. The knife has been identified as belonging to Dennis Loi, but forensic examination and further witness statements will determine who used it. The young woman remains under care at the Brotzu hospital with serious leg injuries.