Spanish Police Issue New Statement on Car Crash That Killed Diogo Jota and His Brother
Spanish authorities have released a second official statement regarding the tragic car accident that resulted in the deaths of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva.
The fatal crash occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning in Zamora, located in northwestern Spain, as the brothers were driving to Santander. According to local police, the vehicle experienced a tyre blowout while overtaking another car, veered off the road, and immediately caught fire. Emergency responders pronounced both brothers dead at the scene.
“A road traffic incident took place at 12:30 a.m. today at kilometre 65 on the A-52 motorway, within the municipality of Cernadilla, Zamora,” the police statement read.
“The car left the roadway, and all indications suggest a tyre burst during an overtaking maneuver. The vehicle then ignited, resulting in the deaths of both occupants.”
Following a wake, the brothers were buried in a service held on Saturday in their hometown of Gondomar, near Porto, with many of Jota’s Liverpool and Portugal teammates in attendance.
The investigation is still ongoing, but on Tuesday afternoon, Spain’s Civil Guard released an update. According to El Mundo, while not officially confirmed, police believe preliminary evidence suggests Jota was driving the Lamborghini at the time of the crash and may have been speeding.
“The technical report is still being completed,” the Civil Guard told AFP.
“Traffic investigators from the Zamora division of the Civil Guard are currently analyzing skid marks from the vehicle’s tyres. All signs are also pointing to a significant excess of speed beyond the legal limit on that section of road.”
All the tests conducted so far indicate that Diogo Jota was behind the wheel when the crash occurred.
“Once completed, the full expert report will be submitted to a court in Puebla de Sanabria,” the statement added.
El Mundo also reported that the brothers’ family helped identify which of them had been driving by recognizing personal belongings found in the wreckage.
The final results of the investigation have not yet been released, and it is uncertain whether they will be made public.
Jota, who netted 65 goals for Liverpool since joining the club in 2020, had recently married his longtime partner, Rute Cardoso, with whom he had three children. Just hours before the crash, he had shared a wedding video on social media.
Liverpool will return to the pitch for the first time since the tragedy on Sunday, facing Preston in a friendly match broadcast on ITV.
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