Ovada
Ovada is a municipality in the Province of Alessandria, in Piedmont, lying along the route of the A26 Genoa-Gravellona Toce motorway, on the stretch linking the Ligurian capital with the Piedmontese hinterland. The municipal territory borders Masone, in the Province of Genoa, and the motorway crosses the area through tunnels and viaducts that form a key link between Liguria and Piedmont.
The accident of 13 October 2026
On 13 October 2026 a car and a lorry collided inside a tunnel on the A26, at kilometre 26 between Ovada and Masone, heading towards Genoa. According to the provincial fire brigade's operations room, the car, driven by a man, rear-ended the heavy vehicle and became wedged under its trailer [1]. The car's passenger, a 28-year-old woman originally from Moncalieri and resident in Nichelino, died in the impact [2]. According to ANSA the victim was already dead at the scene of the crash [1]; according to CronacaQui Torino, however, the woman was airlifted to the CTO hospital in Turin, where she died [2].
The car's driver was freed from the wreckage by firefighters and airlifted in a critical condition to the hospital in Alessandria, in what were described as serious conditions [1][2]. Also responding to the scene were paramedics from Ovada's 118 emergency service, the traffic police, who carried out an investigation to reconstruct the dynamics of the crash, and Autostrade per l'Italia's recovery vehicles [1][2].
Impact on traffic
To allow rescue operations and make the carriageway safe, the stretch of the A26 between Ovada and Masone heading south, towards Genoa, was temporarily closed to traffic, with a mandatory exit at Ovada, where several kilometres of queues formed [2]. Autostrade per l'Italia advised vehicles heading towards Genoa, Savona or the A12 to divert via the A7 Serravalle-Genoa motorway [2].
A very short distance away, at kilometre 24 heading north, towards Milan and Alessandria, a container being carried by a heavy vehicle caught fire; firefighters intervened to put out the fire in the load, stored on pallets, causing further queues and delays also in the opposite direction [1][2].
Timeline
- — On the A26 motorway, in a tunnel between Ovada and Masone, a collision between a car and a lorry kills the car's passenger and leaves the driver seriously injured, airlifted to hospital in Alessandria. → ANSA Piemonte CronacaQui Torino
Related articles: Fatal accident on the A26 motorway between Ovada and Masone (October 2026)
Sources
- Scontro tra auto e camion, una donna morta sull'autostrada A26 — ANSA Piemonte, 13 October 2026
- Tragico schianto tra Ovada e Masone: una donna morta e un ferito grave. Autostrada in tilt per un camion in fiamme — CronacaQui Torino, 13 October 2026