U.S. Air Force servicewoman faces charges for killing Italian boy in car accident

ROME, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- A servicewoman of the U.S. Air Force is facing criminal charges in Italy after authorities there said that she struck and killed a teenage boy with her vehicle while she was intoxicated.

An arrest warrant for vehicular homicide for Julia Bravo was upheld Tuesday, though the 20-year-old will have to wait to find out where she will be tried. A formal decision on the matter is expected in the coming days.

Bravo, who is stationed at the Aviano Air Force base near the northern Italian city of Pordenone, is accused of having blood-alcohol limits four times above the legal limit Sunday when she ran into 15-year-old Giovanni Zanier and immediately killed him.

Bravo is being held under house arrest on the military base.

The boy's mother said that Bravo should be held accountable by the Italian justice system and not simply turned over to the United States for trial, according to an ANSA report.

An official at the military base declined to elaborate on Bravo's case when contacted, providing a statement saying that the Air Force was "cooperating with local authorities."