A five-year-old boy has been killed in Rome after a rented Lamborghini SUV crashed into a small family car during a Youtube challenge on Wednesday evening.

The accident occurred when the sports car carrying five young people aged between 20 and 23, collided with a small city car driven by a mother and her two small children.

The  boy, aged five, died before reaching the hospital. The mother, 35, and her three-year-old daughter were injured.

The police have opened an investigation for manslaughter against the 20-year-old driver, who tested positive for cannabis, according to the Italian news agency Ansa.

Some of the group in the sports car are believed to be members of a team of influencers who regularly post videos on social media.

They have more than 600,000 subscribers on their YouTube channel ‘The Borderline’, 260,000 on TikTok and 88,000 on Instagram.

The accident occurred when they set themselves a new challenge, which consisted of speeding through the Italian capital and spending 50 hours in a row in the car.

Witnesses quoted in the media said they had seen them in their neighbourhood for one or two days, reaching speeds of 90-100 km/h, well in excess of the speed limit in the city.

In a video purportedly filmed by the youngsters, one can be seen getting into a blue Lamborghini and bragging to the camera “Get out of my way with your Smart car, which is worth €300 second-hand in a supermarket, while mine is worth a billion.”

The accident and death of the little boy have provoked strong political reactions.

“We can propose and approve a new highway code (…) by improving education, controls and penalties. But in the face of such stupidity (…), nothing can be done,” said Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport.

And on their YouTube channel, users also condemned their actions.

“Have the decency to close this channel out of respect for the family you have destroyed”, wrote one user.