Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Diogo Jota, Liverpool, Portugal
Josh Lawless
The Spanish police have released a second statement regarding the car crash which claimed the lives of Liverpool star Diogo Jota and brother Andre Silva.
The Portugal international and his younger sibling died in a car crash in Zamora, northwestern Spain in the early hours of Thursday morning while travelling to Santander.
Local police confirmed that the car suffered a tyre blowout while overtaking and immediately caught fire, with emergency services pronouncing the two brothers dead at the scene.
“A road accident occurred at 12.30am this morning at kilometre 65 of the A-52 motorway, in the municipality of Cernadilla, Zamora,” the police statement read.
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“A vehicle left the road and everything indicates tyre burst while overtaking. As a result of the accident, the car caught fire and both people were killed.”
Following a wake, the pair of brothers were quickly laid to rest at a service attended by many of Jota's Liverpool and Portugal teammates in their hometown of Gondomar near Porto on Saturday.
The police have continued to investigate proceedings but on Tuesday afternoon, a second statement was released by the Civil Guard.
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Although not confirmed, as per El Mundo, police said they believe evidence collected points towards Jota likely being the driver of the Lamborghini and potentially being over the speed limit when the tyre blew out.
"The expert report is still being worked on and finalised," the Civil Guard said, as per AFP.
“Among other things traffic police from the Zamora branch of the Civil Guard are studying the tread marked by one of the wheels of the vehicle.
“Everything is also pointing to a possible high excess of speed over the permitted speed on that stretch of the motorway.
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“All the tests carried out for the moment point to the driver of the crash vehicle being Diogo Jota.
“The expert police report when it is finalised will be handed over to a court in Puebla de Sanabria.”
It was also suggested by El Mundo that relatives of the brothers were key in determining about who was the driver and who was the passenger when the tragic accident took place as they identified personal belongings.
The final results from the case have not yet been disclosed as the investigation remains ongoing and it is unclear whether they will be made public at this stage.
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Jota, who scored 65 goals for Liverpool after joining in 2020, had only recently got married to childhood sweetheart Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children.
He had posted a video from his wedding just hours before the crash.
Liverpool will play their first game since the tragedy on Sunday when Arne Slot's side take on Preston in a friendly which will be shown on ITV.