In the early morning of February 25, 2005, near the town of Jáuregui, in the Luján district,
Norberto Aníbal "Pappo" Napolitano
died at the age of 54.
He was one of the great figures of Argentine rock, since the late '60s.
She was a member of groups such as Los Gatos, Pappo's Blues and Riff
, in addition to developing an important career as a soloist.
Pappo
died when he suffered an accident on Route 5 while riding his motorcycle, a Harley Davidson, next to another driven by his son
Luciano Napolitano
, who was also involved in the accident although he was unharmed.
Pappo in full performance on stage: he was an exceptional guitarist.
(AP)
how was the accident
Norberto Napolitano
was traveling on Route 5 the night the tragedy occurred.
His son Luciano and his daughter-in-law accompanied him on another motorcycle.
The road incident occurred upon reaching the La Blanqueada area, at kilometer 71 of Route 5.
In a first instance, several versions circulated.
The main one was that Pappo
's son's motorcycle
grazed him on the road,
Carpo
lost his balance and fell to the asphalt, and was hit by a gold-colored Renault Clío that was driving on the same route.
Pappo's motorcycle, on Route 5, after the accident that caused his death.
There is another version, which differs in the origin of the friction that, in this case, would not have been caused by the son of the founder of Riff, but by a Renault Mégane.
Later, both versions coincide in the fall and crash of a Clio.
Luciano Napolitano
gave his version of the episode in a post made on Facebook in 2012, which he never modified.
He did it to counter rumors that on the night of February 25, 2005, both Pappo and Luciano had taken drugs.
And that this, added to bad luck, were the combinations that led to the tragedy.
"
We were not drugged
. It says the Toxicological Examination of the Biochemical Expert that determined that Norberto (Pappo) and I did not have analgesic, anesthetic, diuretic, cocaine, barbiturates, benzodazepines, amphetamines or other drugs in our body. No, we were not
drunk
We had eaten on a grill and shared a jug of wine among three, "he said.
The son of
Carpo
added that his father had a great resistance "to alcohol, and having had a past linked to alcoholism, this did not prevent him from driving his Harley with more expertise than many who are teetotalers."
He also ruled out that they were running "chopped": "
No, we were not passing each other on the road and playing races or chopped
: my old man was traveling alone on a 1200 cm3 Harley Davidson prepared by him, and I followed him as best I could on an old Kawasaki the '80s, with a modest 400 cm3, taking a driver and a passenger… It would be like making a Chevy run against a Citroën 2CV…”.
More details
According to the text written by Luciano Napolitano, the itinerary of the tragic night began on that grill.
"We had to go play at a Moto Encuentro and we should have gone to change our clothes, and if it had been up to him we would have had to go to the cabaret earlier. But he was Carpo, and with him you never knew the
order
of things".
After dinner they left the grill, went out to the road until at one point and unexpectedly, his father made a sudden and dangerous maneuver.
Luciano Napolitano, Pappo's son,
"He slowed down abruptly trying to turn in the opposite direction to the one we were in, I will never know if he wanted to return to the fifth that we had already passed to change (he was in shorts and loafers), if he wanted to cross into the cabaret or what happened to him,
so
that "He did that incomprehensible maneuver. What I do know is that when I'm catching up with him, the sudden movement surprises me, his motorcycle brushes against mine, making it cross over to the opposite hand. I was saved because, miraculously, no one was coming from the front," he narrated.
Finally, Luciano concluded: "He falls on the asphalt with his Harley, I run to help him get up and a speeding car with its lights on first hits the motorcycle and then runs over him, dragging him and passing over his body" .
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