Head-on highway crash kills father and two daughters in Reggio Calabria

Collision at dawn on Strada Statale 682

A fatal road accident occurred at approximately 6:00 AM on Thursday, 10 September 2026, along the Strada Statale 682 "Jonio-Tirreno" in the province of Reggio Calabria. The collision took place at kilometer marker 3.200 along the carriageway heading towards Rosarno. Four members of a single family were travelling together in an automobile when the vehicle suffered a direct head-on impact with a heavy transport vehicle. Emergency services received initial alerts shortly after the impact during the early dawn commute. First responders, medical crews, and regional transport personnel deployed immediately to the crash site to secure the roadway and attend to the occupants.

Fatalities and emergency medical care

The head-on collision resulted in three immediate deaths among the passengers in the car. A 53-year-old father and his two daughters, aged 14 and 8, died instantly at the scene before paramedics could provide medical intervention. The driver's wife and mother of the two girls survived the impact but sustained severe bodily trauma. Emergency medical personnel extracted her from the wreckage and transferred her directly to the hospital in Polistena. Doctors admitted her to the hospital intensive care unit (reparto di rianimazione), where she remains under critical observation. Officials confirmed that the family lived in Gioiosa Ionica, a municipality situated on the Ionian side of the province.

Highway closure and traffic diversions

State road management agency Anas responded by imposing an immediate temporary closure on the affected section of the SS 682 Jonio-Tirreno. Because the highway is a central transit route linking the Ionian and Tyrrhenian coasts of Calabria, authorities established diversions to redirect morning traffic onto alternative local roadways. Anas operational teams worked on the scene in coordination with regional law enforcement to manage the perimeter. Maintenance crews undertook operations to clear vehicle wreckage, remove fluids from the road surface, and assess the physical condition of the carriageway to permit the restoration of normal traffic as rapidly as possible.

Technical investigation by law enforcement

Officers from the Carabinieri and the Polizia Stradale secured kilometer marker 3.200 to conduct on-site accident reconstruction and forensic investigations. Specialized personnel carried out technical measurements, mapped the resting positions of the vehicles, and examined the damage sustained by both the passenger car and the heavy vehicle. Investigators are compiling evidence to establish the exact chain of events, mechanical conditions, and driving factors that led to the head-on collision. Regional judicial and security authorities in Reggio Calabria are overseeing the ongoing inquiry to clarify why the vehicles collided on the Rosarno-bound carriageway.