Spanish police believe Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota was likely speeding when the car he was driving crashed and burst into flames, killing both him and his younger brother, André Silva.
The fatal accident occurred early last Thursday on the A52 motorway near Palacios de Sanabria in Spain’s northwestern Zamora province. According to the Guardia Civil, the brothers were traveling in a Lamborghini when the car, suspected to have suffered a tyre blowout, veered off the road and caught fire while overtaking.
Local traffic police in Zamora have confirmed that preliminary evidence points to Jota, 28, being behind the wheel at the time of the crash. “All the tests carried out so far indicate that the driver of the crashed vehicle was Diogo Jota,” authorities stated. They added that “everything also points to a possible excessive speed beyond the speed limit of the road.”
Investigators have studied tyre marks at the scene, with reports indicating the marks stretched for about 100 metres before the point of impact. The crash site, while uneven in some sections, was not considered a known accident black spot, and police believe the road surface should have been manageable even beyond the standard 120 km/h (75 mph) speed limit.
The intensity of the fire made the investigation particularly challenging, as the blaze almost completely destroyed the vehicle. A final expert report is being prepared for the courts to formally conclude the cause of the crash.
The tragic accident came just 11 days after Jota had married his long-time partner, Rute Cardoso. The couple shared three children. Jota and his 25-year-old brother were reportedly on their way to the Spanish port city of Santander, from where Jota intended to travel back to Liverpool for pre-season training.
The funeral for the two brothers was held over the weekend in their hometown of Gondomar, near Porto, with hundreds gathering to pay their respects to the fallen football star and his brother.
