Salvatore Licitra Still Struggling For Life After Surgery

Tenor Salvatore Licitra, 43, is still in critical condition at the Garibaldi hospital in Catania from injuries he received in a road accident near Modica in the Ragusa region of Sicily. He was traveling on a Vespa with his Chinese girlfriend, 29, on his way for a vacation and to collect the Ragusani nel Mondo prize (scheduled for September 3) when at 10:30 pm yesterday on the Miccichè street, in the hamlet of Donnalucata, his motorbike lost control and slammed into a wall. The opera tenor was not wearing a helmet and has sustained severe head, face and chest injuries. He was transferred by helicopter to the hospital for emergency surgery to relieve the mounting pressure on his skull. He remains in intensive care. Police reports show that the couple was traveling at a low speed of about 30 miles per hour when control was lost. No other vehicles were involved in the crash and speculation swirls that Mr. Licitra may have suffered a "sudden illness" that caused the incident. It seems as though his girlfriend, from Shanghai, was wearing a helmet (although some articles say the contrary) and she walked away from the incident with minor scrapes. [Source, Source]