Police share cause of fatal car accident that killed Liverpool player Diogo Jota and brother

Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota, 28, and his brother Andre, a Peñafiel footballer, died early this morning in a traffic accident in Zamora, this newspaper has been able to confirm via local authorities.

What happened to Diogo Jota and brother?

The crash occurred at kilometer 65 of the A-52, near the town of Palacios de Sanabria. Jota was traveling with his brother along the A-52 through the municipality of Cernadilla during the night. At around 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday local time (6:30 pm Tuesday ET), according to initial findings reported by this newspaper, investigators believe the Lamborghini they were in may have suffered a tire blowout while attempting to overtake another vehicle.

As a result, the car veered off the road in a crash that proved fatal. The vehicle caught fire, and the blaze was deadly for both Portuguese footballers.

The Guardia Civil, firefighters from the Zamora provincial brigade, and a Mobile Emergency Unit with medical personnel all responded to the scene of the accident

• Diogo Jota, the ‘wolf’ who conquered Anfield

What family did Jota have?

Jota married Rute Cardoso just a few days ago, on June 22. The couple have three children, four and two years old and another seven months old. These were recent images posted of the ceremony.

Liverpool lead tributes to Jota

Jota moved to The Reds from Wolves in September 2020, and was an immediate hit with the fans, some seeing shades of the clinical Robbie Fowler in his movement and finishing. He even matched the legendary striker by scoring seven goals in his first 10 Liverpool appearances.

Injuries curtailed his playing time but he was a key star for Jürgen Klopp and featured for Arne Slot’s title-winning team last season. It was the record-equalling 20th title, and Jota wore number 20. He also had 49 caps for Portugal.

He will be remembered fondly by the Anfield faithful and much further afield. RIP Diogo and Andre.

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