Spanish police release Diogo Jota statement shedding new light on tragic crash

Irish Daily Mirror

8 hours ago

Spanish authorities have indicated for the first time that Liverpool star Diogo Jota is believed to have been behind the wheel of the Lamborghini involved in the fatal crash that claimed the lives of the footballer and his brother André Silva.
The police have also said that initial tests hint that the 28-year-old Jota may have been in excess of the permitted speed limit on that particular stretch of the motorway, as per the Mirror.
Jota and his younger sibling, 26, were laid to rest on Saturday after their deaths in the early hours of Thursday morning near Zamora, Spain.
The tragedy occured shortly after Jota had wed his long-time partner Rute Cardoso on June 22, with whom he has three children. Tributes from across the world have flooded in ever since.
In what is only their second formal communication since the last week's incident on the A-52 by Zamora, close to the Portuguese border, the Civil Guard said: "The expert report is still being worked on and finalised.
"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.
'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.'
Liverpool's squad arrived at Kirkby for their initial pre-season training on Tuesday morning. This comes just three days after the funeral of their colleague in Portugal.
Mohamed Salah shared a moving tribute on social media saying he would struggle with the absence of Jota as the team gathered again.
"I am truly lost for words," the Egyptian star posted last week. "Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break. Team mates come and go but not like this. It's going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won't be there when we go back."
Head coach Arne Slot expressed that the sense of loss is overwhelming, saying: "He was a loved one to all of us." Jurgen Klopp, who signed Jota for Liverpool in 2020, also shared his sorrow on Instagram.
The Merseyside club's summer schedule included a friendly against Preston North End at Deepdale this coming Sunday. Nevertheless, whether the game will proceed remains uncertain, with Slot due to consult with the players about their willingness to play in the fixture or not.