Liverpool star Diogo Jota has tragically died, sending shockwaves through the entire sports world.
The 28-year-old soccer player lost his life on Thursday, in a horrifying car crash.
Jota and his brother veered off the road, and their vehicle burst into flames — and now chilling new details are emerging about what caused the deadly accident.
The football world is reeling after shocking news that Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota, 28, has died in a horrific car accident early Thursday morning in Zamora, Spain.
His death occurred less than two weeks after marrying Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children — two sons and a newborn daughter.
Jota was traveling with his younger brother, André Silva, 25, when their car veered off the road and caught fire. Tragically, both brothers lost their lives in the crash.
Jota’s car reportedly crashed on the A-52 highway near Cernadilla, close to the Portugal border. Notably, this stretch of road has a notorious reputation: a recent survey by Spain’s Organisation of Users and Consumers ranked the A-52 among the country’s most dangerous highways due to poor road conditions and a lack of safety barriers.
DNA testing necessary
Spanish rescue teams responded quickly, but the car’s flames spread rapidly to nearby vegetation, complicating the rescue efforts.
Officials revealed that the victims’ bodies were badly burned and unrecognizable, making DNA testing necessary to confirm their identities. Rescue teams faced major challenges due to the intense fire that engulfed the vehicle.
Investigators were able to trace the wreckage back to the Portuguese star and his younger brother thanks to the supercar’s license plate and documents found inside the charred remains.
What caused the crash?
Details remain scarce about what exactly happened in the moments before the deadly crash on that dark night in Spain. Investigators have found a long tire skid mark near the crash site, suggesting the driver may have slammed on the brakes just before impact.
However, authorities are treating the accident as a “possible speeding incident,” a government source in Zamora told the PA news agency.
Officials say the crash happened when a tire exploded during an overtaking maneuver, causing the driver to lose control. The vehicle, reported to be a Lamborghini, then crashed and caught fire.
”It doesn’t make sense”
At the time, the brothers were reportedly on their way to catch a ferry to Great Britain, ahead of Liverpool’s preseason kickoff on Monday. CNN Portugal reports that Jota recently had lung surgery and was advised by doctors not to fly, which likely explains why he was traveling by car.
Portuguese journalist Victor Pinto told CMTV, “Diogo sometimes chose to travel by road because he had some pulmonary discomfort, nothing serious, and as we know, there is a ferry boat that connects the south of England to Spain.”
Since Jota’s passing, the entire football world has come together in mourning. Nearly every top player worldwide — including his Portuguese teammate Cristiano Ronaldo — has sent their condolences.
‘It doesn’t make sense,’ he wrote.
‘Just now we were together in the national team, you had just got married.’
The striker sent his condolences to Jota’s family, wife and children, and adds: ‘I know you will always be with them.
‘Rest in Peace, Diogo e André. We will miss you.’
