Friday, February 3, 2023 | 1:00 a.m.
While the investigation that seeks to determine the causes of the mistake in the Brazilian town of Fernandes Pinheiro on BR-227 progresses, the four missionary victims arrived yesterday in their land to say goodbye to their relatives and relatives. They are Carina Martínez (42), her son David (3), Giuliana Tessari (24) and Fernando Benítez (33).
The remains of Carina and her son, domiciled in the town of Puerto Iguazú, crossed the international border around 10:30 in the morning. Before, her husband and her two children had done it, since the family had gone to spend a vacation on the Brazilian beaches.
The wake for both was held during the day in a private room and in principle it was planned that they be buried today. However, the burial was brought forward and the farewell took place in the evening hours.
Fatigue after the uncertainty and delay that democracy generated, but above all the pain of the last goodbye, which confirmed the tragedy, were the faces in the El Salvador cemetery of the tourist town.
Family, friends and relatives of the family participated in the heartfelt ceremony, as well as members of the Batuke troupe and the church attended by mother and son.
The same funeral home was in charge of Fernando Benítez’s wake in a room in the town of Wanda, where he was from. While in the afternoon his farewell took place in the Wanda cemetery.
In addition to the five Argentines, the sinister road left two other dead.
Fernando had traveled for the first time with his girlfriend Giuliana Tessari (24), with whom he had started a relationship about a year ago. The young woman is the mother of a four-year-old girl and the daughter of businessman Luis “La Sombra” Tessari, a former runner from the 1990s and owner of a cabin complex in Wanda.
Yesterday the relatives fired the young woman around 6:00 p.m. in the cemetery in the town of Puerto Esperanza.
About the family, who spoke was his grandmother Iris, who was very dejected by the events. “I don’t understand how someone from the passage didn’t get up and she asked the driver to stop. We found out that they were honking at her and flashing lights because she kept crossing lanes, ”she said in statements to the Clarín newspaper when she had not yet received the remains of his granddaughter.
Yesterday, after a few intense days in which inconvenience due to the bureaucracy in the neighboring country transpired, the family chose secrecy over Giuliana’s last goodbye.
It was confirmed that he fell asleep
Regarding the investigation, the collection of information indicates that it was a totally preventable tragedy. And that the end was alerted by various events before 1.50 on Tuesday, when the bus lost its way and overturned on the BR-227, about 500 kilometers from its final destination.
The Civil Police of Paraná confirmed yesterday in a note to the press that the investigations reconstructed that the driver of the vehicle fell asleep, confirming the statements made to the media by some of the occupants at the scene of the event.
As reported by different media from the neighboring country, statements were taken from 12 people who were hospitalized and the common story is that the driver was very tired and even complained about it.
The trip had planned a single stop, but according to what has been reconstructed, at least three were made, one about 15 minutes before the mistake.
What supports this theory is that at the scene of the events, the investigators did not detect brake marks and even some drivers who came across the bus said that it was driving strangely.
“Many (victims) complain that the driver looked very tired, the driver complained that he was sleepy. They also report that he stopped for dinner halfway, but that he made several more stops to try to recover from the trip, including one 15 minutes before the accident,” said the delegate of the Civil Police in Teixeira Soares, Wesley Gonçalves da Silva. Boa Noite Paraná newscast.
On the other hand, it was expected that yesterday the experts would be carried out on the group involved to find out if it had any mechanical damage, a measure that should have been done on Wednesday but was delayed.
According to statements from the intervening force, the delay was due to the large number of procedures to release the bodies while the police force was busy.
On the other hand, a letter was sent to the company that owns the group, to clarify various points. What is trying to be determined is whether the company complied with all current regulations, especially regarding the rest of its workers.
“If it is a matter of fatigue that is due to the imprudence of the driver himself, he will be held responsible for homicide for driving a motor vehicle. But if it is due to excessive working hours, then we will hold the company accountable,” Wesley explained.
Yesterday the company released a new statement in which it expressed its commitment to comply with all protocols for drivers’ working hours determined by the legislation of the regulatory bodies. The company affirms that out of respect for the collaborators, victims and relatives involved, it will not rule on the details of the ongoing investigation that is being carried out by the competent authorities.
The facts
As this media has been reporting, the incident occurred around 03:50 p.m. on Tuesday in Fernandes Pinheiro on BR-227, in the southeast of Paraná and about 500 kilometers from Foz de Iguazú. The long-distance bus of the Viação Catarinense company misled the bus with 55 people, including the driver.
The rescue of the passengers ended at 11:20 a.m., ten hours after the event, since four of the bodies were under the overturned vehicle and it was necessary to pick up the bus in order to gain access.
The doctor who treated the tourists overnight said the reason the bus was double-decker made it difficult to remove the bodies. The bus was seized after the bodies of the victims were removed and sent for autopsy.
Likewise, according to the preliminary analysis of the Federal Police, based on the tracks and information collected, the bus left the road in a straight line and fell to the side of the road. No signs of collision with other vehicles were detected. On the other hand, the driver underwent a breathalyzer test, which yielded a negative result.
