Brazil Holiday Travel Marred by Deadly Highway Crashes and Fresh Investigations

Overview

• On PR-170 in Rolândia (PR), six members of one family died in a car–truck head-on collision; a truck passenger said he awoke at impact as the driver remains in intensive care and the causes are under investigation.
• On BR-040 near João Pinheiro (MG), a car-carrier allegedly crossed into oncoming traffic and hit a family’s car, which burned; four died at the scene as PRF noted a string of recent fatal crashes on the same stretch.
• On BR-050 in Campo Alegre de Goiás (GO), a woman, her two children and the driver died after the car struck a concrete barrier and plunged into a ravine, according to an initial PRF assessment.
• A 46-year-old driver was arrested on MG-133 after a tree impact that killed a 71-year-old woman; police recorded 0.07 mg/l on the breath test and found his license had been expired since 2018, with two other elderly victims gravely injured.
• Investigators indicted a coach driver for homicide with eventual intent and bodily injury over a June crash on BR-262 (MS), stating he invaded the opposite lane before a collision that left two people dead.