The Tribunal of Asti sentenced Franco Vacchina to eight years in prison for vehicular homicide and fully acquitted Davide Bertello in the abbreviated trial held before judge Matteo Bertelli Motta. The ruling concerns the accident that occurred on the evening of December 11, 2025, on the A33 Asti-Cuneo highway, in which Matilde Baldi, a 20-year-old woman, lost her life.

The judge did not accept the prosecution's theory that the two defendants were engaged in a speed race in their respective Porsches at the time of the accident. The prosecutor's office of Asti, through prosecutor Sara Paterno, had requested ten years for Vacchina and five for Bertello, charging them with illegal street racing. The judge accepted the requests only in part, reducing Vacchina's sentence and acquitting Bertello, who had been charged with failure to assist and with alleged participation in the race without being directly involved in the crash.

According to technical investigations conducted during the inquiry, the Porsche driven by Vacchina was traveling at approximately 212 kilometers per hour when it rear-ended the Fiat 500 carrying Matilde Baldi and her mother Elvia Pia, which was traveling at about 70 kilometers per hour. The impact was devastating: Elvia Pia suffered severe injuries, while her daughter sustained irreversible brain damage. Admitted to the hospital in Alessandria, Matilde died after five days. The family authorized the donation of her organs.

The investigation by the Asti prosecutor's office had initially hypothesized that the accident was the culmination of a speed race that began on the streets of Asti and continued along the A33 highway. During the investigation, Vacchina was placed under house arrest and chat messages extracted from his phone were acquired, in which the businessman had discussed the accident with acquaintances while denying having participated in an illegal race. However, the judge did not find the racing hypothesis proven.

The parents of Matilde Baldi expressed disappointment at the outcome of the trial.