Story By: Marija Stojkoska, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency:  Newsflash

This 21-year-old Italian girl beauty queen died after her car overturned and landed in a ditch where she drowned as people stood on the bank unaware that her body was trapped inside.

The shocking accident occurred in the Ponte Rigo street at a crossing with the Pomposa street in the Italian commune of Jolanda di Savoia in the Ferrara province located in the Emilia-Romagna region in the northwest of the country.

It was nevertheless only when firemen arrived 20 minutes after getting the call that they discovered there was a body in the car following the incident on Friday 9th October.

The car of victim Elena Carlini, 21, was spotted by a student cycling to school, who raised the alarm, but was unaware that there was anyone in the vehicle.

It was not revealed how old the student was, but, he was reportedly not old enough to take his driving test yet. It is believed that the accident happened sometime before, and local media said the young woman was dead by the time the vehicle was discovered.

Local media said Carlini lost control of her Fiat 500 and drove out of the street ending up in the ditch filled with water where she was later found.

The circumstances surrounding the fatal accident and the exact cause of death are unclear with no reports on what caused the young woman to lose control of her vehicle.

Investigators think weather conditions causing poor visibility might have been a possible cause, however, there has been no confirmation on the theory. It is unclear where the 21-year-old was driving at the time of her accident or whether there was possibly somebody else with her at the time.

News of the Carlini’s death left several in her town shocked with local mayor Paolo Pezzolato saying: “Elena was known by everyone in Jolanda. We are shocked. We gather around the family in silence.”

She won a local pageant being crowned Miss Mondini 2018 when she was 19 years old.

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