Youtubers' car challenge kills 5-year-old in Rome crash: Media
The site of a car crash that involved a Lamborghini (Rear) and a Smart in the Casal Palocco district, southwest of Rome, Italy, June 14, 2023. (ANSA news agency via AFP)


A 5-year-old boy has been killed, and his mother and sister injured after YouTubers driving a Lamborghini while filming a video crashed into their car in Rome, according to Italian media.

Three of the five people in the sports car belong to a group called "Theborderline."

They were taking part in a challenge to spend 50 hours straight in the luxury vehicle, according to the reports. The young people in the SUV made by an Italian sportscar maker reportedly had borrowed the vehicle to make videos for the YouTube challenge.

The crash happened Wednesday afternoon in an upmarket residential suburb of Rome and the boy died on the way to hospital, the reports said.

One member of the group, which has 600,000 subscribers, said in an Instagram post Thursday that he had not been the one driving, and sent his thoughts to the 5-year-old victim's family.

The ANSA news agency said prosecutors were investigating the driver on a possible charge of causing death by dangerous driving.

The media reports suggested that the SUV was being driven recklessly and too fast. Police have confiscated the mobile phones of the group.

Italian politicians expressed outrage at YouTube users who participate in risky challenges. They called for stiffer punishments and better education regarding the dangers.

Italy's Transport Minister Matteo Salvini said on Facebook he could "propose and approve a new highway code... But in the face of a certain stupidity, which turns into tragedy, we can do nothing."