Speeding car plows into cyclists in Italy, kills 8

ROME - A speeding car plowed head-on into a group of cyclists insouthern Italy on Sunday morning, killing eight of them, officialssaid. The driver had been smoking marijuana, police said.

Bent, mangled bikes were strewn about the scene, and the sheet-draped corpses dotted the two-lane road near Lamezia Terme, in theCalabrian "toe" of boot-shaped Italy where the accident occurred.

In addition to the eight cyclists killed, four people wereinjured: two cyclists and the driver and a young boy in the car withhim, said Maria Dolores Rucci, commander of the road police innearby Catanzaro.

The ANSA news agency said the driver, who was only slightlyinjured, was placed under arrest on charges of multiple homicide. Apolice spokesman who declined to give his name said the man, aMoroccan national, had tested positive for marijuana.

ANSA said the driver was trying to pass another car when he hitthe group. Visibility was good at the time, reports said.

The road, closed by authorities for most of the day, reopenedSunday evening.

It is common in Italy to see groups of amateur cyclists taking tosmall state roads on weekends, and ANSA said the group hit Sundaywas affiliated with a local Lamezia Terme gym.

As a result of the crash, Italian cycling officials complainedabout safety problems for cyclists who have to share roads withcars.

The head of Italy's cycling federation, Renato Di Rocco,denounced the violent "massacre" of the cyclists and sent hiscondolences to their families.

The mayor of Lamezia Terme, Gianni Speranza, announced a day ofmourning for the dead, ANSA said.