The wife of Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr allegedly struck and killed a babysitter in a crosswalk while on vacation in Italy.
Vivian Alexandra Spohr, 51, is under investigation for vehicular homicide after reportedly hitting Gaia Costa, 24, with her BMW X5 on Tuesday, the New York Post reported, citing Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Costa was using a pedestrian crossing in the Sardinian resort town of Porto Cervo when she was hit.
Vivian initially drove on, apparently unaware she had hit anyone, before being flagged down by a passerby and fainting upon discovering the accident, German newspaper Bild said.
Paramedics attempted to revive Costa, who had been on her way to her babysitting job, for 20 minutes, but she died from severe head injuries at the scene.
While Carsten, 58, was not in the car at the time of the accident, Vivian was reportedly driving with their daughter. The family owns a vacation home near the scene of the collision.
Vivian flew back to Munich, Germany, shortly after the accident. Her attorney, Angelo Merlini, told La Repubblica that she is “at the complete disposal of the judicial authorities for the necessary investigations.”
Merlini said Vivian “expresses her dismay and deep regret over this very serious accident.” A lawyer for the Spohrs, who have two daughters, told Bild that the family has “expressed their deepest condolences to the victim’s relatives.”
Investigators are reportedly looking into whether Vivian was distracted by her phone at the time of the accident. An alcohol and drug test reportedly came back negative.
Porto Cervo mayor Gianni Addis described Costa as “hard-working and cheerful.”
“Gaia was a young woman who was deeply involved in the city’s social and cultural life,” he said, according to The Telegraph. “She was passionate about our traditions and never missed the parades of the local folk group.”
Vivian is a patron of a Lufthansa charity foundation that supports children and young people.
Carsten has been the chairman and CEO of Lufthansa since 2014. He earned more than €5.6 million in compensation in 2023, according to Yahoo Finance.
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