A family-of-10 was killed and 43 passengers were injured after the bus they were traveling on crashed on a highway in the southeastern Brazilian city of Itapetininga.
The São Paulo Civil Police said the bus was on Francisco da Silva Pontes Highway early Friday morning when the driver, whose name has not been released, lost control of the steering wheel, which got locked.
The driver was unable to slow down the bus before it slammed into a pillar under a highway overpass.
He was expected to be questioned Friday, but told investigators that the bus had encountered a mechanical issue.
The fire department had to pull out 15 passengers who were stuck in the totaled bus.
Ten family members were killed when the bus they were traveling on crashed on a highway in Itapetininga, a city in the southeastern Brazil state of São Paul, on Friday
The bus driver, who was injured, told authorities that the steering wheel locked on him and that he was unable to regain control of the bus before it slammed into a concrete pillar under a highway overpass in the southeastern Brazil city of Itapetininga on Friday. The crash left 10 people dead and 43 injured
The owner of the bus, Onix Turismo, told Brazilian news out G1 that the passengers knew each other and had chartered it for their annual trip to Aparecida de Goiânia, a city the central state of Goiás.
The victims were identified as Moacir Moraes, 73; his two sons, Gilmar Moraes, 48, and Gilberto Moraes, 42; Gilberto’s wife, Vanessa Souza, 37, and their six-year-old son, Tiago Moraes; Valdira Morais, 48; José Bento and his wife, Edna Carvalho; Iolanda de Oliveira; and Jessiele Rodrigues.
Moacir Moraes had been organizing the yearly Catholic church trip for four decades, his sister Iracema Santos told Brazilian news outlet Istoe Dinheiro.
‘He was a leader here in the neighborhood,’ she said.
‘No one knows for sure how the accident happened. I have traveled many times with my brother’s group, but as the number of people wanting to go has increased, I have started organizing another group. We made the trip to Aparecida in June and everything went well.’
Santos’ niece, Camila de Moraes, was among the injured along with her parents.
‘It happened very quickly, the noise of the crash, such a commotion. I can’t even talk about it,’ de Moraes said. ‘My parents are hospitalized.’
Edna Proença told TV TEM that the passenger bus came to a full stop after it slammed into the pillar on the middle of the road. Her three children and granddaughter were injured
Edna Proença was on the bus with her family when she felt the vehicle crashing into the concrete structure in the middle of the highway. Her three children and granddaughter needed medical assistance.
‘It all happened so fast. The bus hit the pillar and stopped,’ Proença told G1 affiliate TV TEM. ‘I can’t even understand what happened. I just felt the bus shaking, and my granddaughters were all screaming there.’
The victims are all residents of the São Paulo western city of Ribeirão Branco.
‘Our hearts go out to the families of the pilgrims from the Palmeirinha neighborhood and everyone involved in this difficult time,’ the mayor’s office said in a statement.
‘We have canceled all official activities to support the families and have declared three days of official mourning in solidarity with the community of Ribeirão Branco. May they find comfort and support to overcome this immeasurable pain.’