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2008-05-27 04:46:45
By MARTA FALCONI, Associated Press WriterTue May 27, 1:52 AM ET
An American tourist was killed by a train as he walked on the tracks in a daze
after he drank a cappuccino laced with drugs and then was robbed, railway
police said Monday.
Frank Phel, 74, of California, died early Friday at the suburban Tiburtina
station, police official Giovanni Piccolantonio said. Phel's hometown was not
disclosed.
The suspected robber, a 54-year-old Italian man who was arrested Saturday, had
chatted with Phel and his wife before fetching them cappuccinos at a local cafe
and then adding a mix of drugs including sleeping pills, Piccolantonio said.
"This man approached these two tourists and earned their trust, and then
offered them two cappuccinos with drugs," Piccolantonio said.
The robbery was filmed by security cameras at a nearby cafe, Piccolantonio
said. Footage from other cameras also showed the man stumbling near the tracks,
where he ended up by accident.
Phel and his wife, who was briefly hospitalized after the incident, had just
completed a cruise in the Mediterranean and were going to Hungary by bus,
Piccolantonio said.
Phel's wife went to Hungary, where her husband was born, after being released
from hospital.
The U.S. Embassy in Rome did not have an immediate comment Monday on Phel's
death.