Pelotas Bus Crash Kills 11 on BR-116 as Storms Batter São Paulo State

Overview

• PRF and Ecovias report a sand-laden truck steered into the oncoming lane to avoid a congestion queue and struck an intercity bus near Pelotas, forcing sand into the bus and complicating rescues.
• Authorities identified the dead as the bus driver, the conductor and nine passengers aged 34 to 85, and the truck driver was interrogated after a breath test showed no alcohol.
• Eleven people were injured and treated in Pelotas, with eight discharged by Saturday morning, as police and forensic teams work to reconstruct the crash dynamics.
• In São Paulo, the woman hit by a falling tree at Parque Ibirapuera, identified by family as Débora Oliveira, 57, was released from Hospital São Paulo with a clavicle fracture and facial sutures as areas remained isolated for inspection.
• Storms in the Campinas region brought 40 mm of rain, at least 10 tree falls and flooding, while São José dos Campos recorded a major tree fall without injuries and Paulínia closed a holiday attraction after wind damage; separate road incidents included a fatality on Via Dutra, five deaths on BR-135 in Bahia and five tourists hurt in a Rio–Santos crash.