Spanish police investigating the fatal car crash that killed Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, have said that preliminary evidence suggests the footballer was driving and that “possible excessive speed” was a factor.
The 28-year-old Portugal international and his 25-year-old brother were killed in the early hours of last Thursday in Spain’s northwestern Zamora province. The Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) reported at the time that the Lamborghini they were travelling in had a suspected tyre blowout while overtaking another vehicle on the A52 motorway, causing it to leave the road and catch fire.
In an update on the investigation, Zamora’s local traffic police stated, “Everything also points to a possible excessive speed beyond the speed limit of the road.” Officials confirmed that analysis of tyre marks left on the road surface and other tests “indicate that the driver of the crashed vehicle was Diogo Jota.”
The investigation has reportedly been made more complex by the intensity of the fire, which almost completely destroyed the car. Police told Spanish media that while there were suggestions the road surface was uneven, the area is not considered an accident “black spot.” An expert report is now being prepared for the courts.
The accident occurred just 11 days after Jota had married his long-term partner, Rute Cardoso, with whom he had three children. The brothers were reportedly travelling to the Spanish port of Santander for Jota to catch a ferry back to England for the start of Liverpool’s pre-season training.
Their funeral took place in their hometown of Gondomar, near Porto, over the weekend, attended by family, friends, and teammates.
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