Man, 81, Is Struck and Killed by Truck Operated by Novice Driver, Police Say

An 81-year-old man was killed Saturday while walking a dog in Arlington County when he was struck by a truck operated by a woman learning to drive, Arlington police said.

Marco Amoni, who had a home in the area to be near his grandchildren, was struck about 6 p.m. in the 2800 block of South Fort Scott Drive, relatives and officers said.

A 21-year-old woman was learning to drive when "she drove over an embankment" in a parking lot, police said.

After hitting Amoni, the truck struck a house, police said.

"I can't believe it," a neighbor said Sunday night. "It is like a nightmare."

Amoni, a self-made small businessman and entrepreneur, was born in Italy and moved to the United States in 1951, said his son-in-law Don Ryan.

"He was just a wonderful man" with an "incredible zest for life . . . who just loved the United States," Ryan said.

After arriving in New York City, Ryan said, Amoni took a job helping to dig a subway tunnel. The job lasted a day, Ryan said. Then Amoni entered the food industry. He started as a busboy and became a waiter, and in six months he opened a restaurant.

Amoni moved to Long Island in 1954 as city residents flooded the suburbs, and he went from the restaurant business into catering.

Upon retiring 15 years ago, he and his wife, Antonetta, spent part of each year in Arlington to be near their daughter Marilena and her family. The couple also had a home in Florida. A son lives in Atlanta.

Amoni and his wife became "incredibly involved with their grandchildren's lives," Ryan said, attending "every school event."

Amoni began learning Spanish when he was 60 and became fluent. His facility with the language allowed him to tutor in it at Oakridge Elementary and Gunston Middle schools, Ryan said.

After the accident Saturday, police said, the two occupants of the truck remained on the scene in the secluded neighborhood of steep and curving tree-lined streets a half-mile west of South Jefferson Davis Highway.

Police said that the two were interviewed and that no charges had been filed. The investigation was continuing, police said.

Ryan said the dog that Amoni had been walking, a schnauzer mix named Smokey, apparently suffered ligament damage.

Saturday's incident was the second in recent days in which a car operated by someone learning to drive caused harm. On Oct. 5, a van crashed into an apartment house in the Lanham area. A man inside was injured.