Investigation

The death of Ramy Elgaml in Milan: what the 3D reconstruction reveals

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On 24 November 2024 in Milan, Ramy Elgaml, 19, died beneath a Carabinieri patrol car at the end of a chase. The officers have always maintained that the scooter he was riding on had tried to cut across their path. Commissioned by the family, Index’s 3D counter-expertise contradicts that account: it was the car that swerved towards the scooter, twice.

The death of Ramy Elgaml in Milan: what the 3D reconstruction reveals (08:32)
Incident date
Location
Milan (Italie)
Victim(s)
Ramy Elgaml (19 y.o.)
Consequence(s)
Death
Force(s) involved
Carabinieri (Italy)
Methods employed
Ramming, Vehicle
Theme(s)
Partner(s)
Il Manifesto, L’Humanité
Francesco Sebregondi, Nadav Joffe, Filippo Ortona, Guillaume Seyller, Basile Trouillet, Léonie Montjarret Francesco Sebregondi Investigation Nadav Joffe Investigation Filippo Ortona Investigation Guillaume Seyller Investigation Basile Trouillet Investigation Léonie Montjarret Design

On 24 November 2024, at 4:03 in the morning, Ramy Elgaml, 19, died at the junction of via Ripamonti and via Quaranta in Milan. He was riding as a passenger on a scooter driven by Fares Bouzidi, 22. The two young men had fled a routine traffic stop, triggering a chase lasting several minutes with a Carabinieri patrol car. According to the autopsy, his death was caused by the compression of his body by the Carabinieri vehicle.

The officers on board have consistently maintained that the scooter’s driver attempted to turn left at the junction, cutting across their path and losing control of his vehicle.

In March 2025, the Elgaml family, through their lawyer, commissioned Index to produce an independent counter-expertise into the circumstances of Ramy’s death. An expert appointed by the public prosecutor had already delivered their own conclusions. Index’s analysis contests them on several points.

The method

Using drone surveys carried out on site, Index reconstructed the junction where the chase ended in three dimensions, then analysed footage from the CCTV cameras included in the judicial case file. The frame-matching technique consists of placing each camera back into the 3D model, at the exact point from which it filmed — allowing the vehicles’ actual positions to be plotted frame by frame within the scene, and their trajectories reconstructed.

Aerial view of the Ripamonti/Quaranta junction and the position of the surveillance cameras
View of the Ripamonti/Quaranta junction and of the surveillance cameras that captured the scene.

These positions were cross-checked against the marks recorded on the ground by the municipal police: the trace left by the scooter’s rear tyre and the gouge cut into the asphalt as it fell. Every measurement carries a quantified margin of uncertainty.

Reconstruction of the scooter’s trajectory: frame-match of a forensic photograph taken by the Milan municipal police, showing the mark left by the scooter’s rear tyre and the gouge cut into the asphalt by a metal part of the vehicle as it fell.

The findings

Index’s reconstruction establishes that the Carabinieri car swerved twice to the left, towards the scooter, while following it at less than one metre and at over 50 km/h.

The first swerve occurs on via Ripamonti, before the vehicles enter the junction. Several converging indications lead Index to consider it highly probable that a first contact between the two vehicles took place at that moment, destabilising the scooter.

After this contact, the scooter’s trajectory remains essentially straight: neither the footage nor the marks on the ground show any left turn towards via Quaranta. The officers’ statements are incompatible with Index’s measurements.

Reconstruction of the trajectories of the scooter and of the Carabinieri vehicle, frame by frame, by frame-matching within the 3D model.

The second swerve occurs within the junction. It is this manoeuvre that leads the car to pass over Ramy Elgaml’s body, before coming to a stop against a traffic-light pole.

Trajectories of the two vehicles and the two swerves of the Carabinieri car
Trajectories of the two vehicles at the end of the sequence. Both swerves of the Carabinieri vehicle towards the scooter are visible.

Finally, the vehicle positions relied upon by the prosecutor’s appointed expert differ by nearly three metres from those measured by Index on the same footage. This discrepancy led them to overestimate the distance between the car and the scooter, and therefore not to consider the possibility of a first contact before the junction.

Ramy Elgaml’s death sparked major protests in Milan and across Italy; his family’s legal battle has become emblematic of the wider fight against police violence in the country.

Index’s report, accompanied by a detailed methodological annex, has been submitted as evidence in the proceedings. The trial is expected to begin in 2027.