Carabiniere in crash was four times over alcohol limit.

Three traffic police officers were seriously injured in Rome on Wednesday evening after being hit by a car driven by an off-duty carabiniere who tested positive for alcohol.

One of the traffic police officers, 25-year-old new recruit Daniele Virgili, had to have a leg amputated as a result of the crash, with doctors reportedly attempting to save his other leg.

The incident happened shortly before 21.00 on Via Tiburtina, near the GRA ring road, while the traffic police were dealing with a motorbike accident.

The officers were placing warning signs along the road when they were hit by the off-duty carabiniere, a 30-year-old officer with the ROS special operations unit.

After undergoing an alcohol test, the driver was found to be four times over the legal limit, according to the Corriere della Sera.

Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri and the commander of the city's municipal police force Mario De Sclavis visited Virgili on Thursday night at San Camillo hospital where they met with his family.

The two other injured traffic police officers, both women, are being treated at Sandro Pertini and Policlinico Umberto I hospitals, the Corriere reports.

Marco Milani, the Rome secretary of the Polizia Locale union Sulpl, shared the "pain and closeness" of his colleagues towards Virgili, who was due to finish his probationary period in just few days.

Milani also condemned the unsafe working conditions of traffic police as well as noting bitterly that due to contractual agreements, Virgili, "in addition to his limbs, unfortunately risks losing his job if the convalescence period exceeds eight consecutive months".

Meanwhile dozens of Rome traffic police officers have answered an urgent appeal to donate blood to help their young colleague at San Camillo hospital.

Photo Corriere della Sera