MAY 11, 2005

The Senna trial is finally over?

An Italian state prosecutor has asked for the legal actions over the death of Ayrton Senna to be stopped, because of Italy's statute of limitations, which means that time had run out. Senna died at Imola on May 1, 1994, 11 years ago. Patrick Head, Adrian Newey and others faced manslaughter charges but were acquitted in 1997. That verdict was upheld by an appeal court in 1999. It was another three years before the prosecutor asked for a review of the case in by the Corte Suprema di Cassazione, Italy's Supreme Court, claiming that the appeal process was not carried out correctly. The Supreme Court agreed and the new case opened today in a Bologna court but the state prosecutor Rinaldo Rosini immediately asked for the case to be closed. Lawyers representing Head and Newey had rejected making such a move because they said it would damage the reputation of their clients. With the prosecutor asking for the end of the case hopefully now it will be over.