Two Eyewitnesses Dispute Spanish Police Claims in Diogo Jota’s Fatal Crash

ZAMORA, SPAIN – Two Portuguese truck drivers have come forward to challenge Spanish police claims that Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota was speeding when he and his brother Andre Silva died in a tragic Lamborghini crash last Thursday, July 3, 2025.

The accident occurred at around 12:40 AM on the A-52 motorway near Cernadilla, in the Zamora region close to the Portuguese border. Spanish Civil Guard authorities originally suggested Jota may have been going well above the 120kph (74mph) speed limit and indicated that a tyre blowout during an overtaking manoeuvre caused the crash.

However, eyewitnesses now contradict those claims.

First Witness: Jose Azevedo

Jose Azevedo, a Portuguese lorry driver, identified himself as the person who filmed the viral video of Jota’s acid-green Lamborghini Huracan engulfed in flames. In a four-minute video posted online, Azevedo said the vehicle “passed me super calmly, without speeding.”

“I stopped, grabbed a fire extinguisher, and tried to help,” Azevedo added. “But because of the impact—forget it—there was nothing I could do.”

He even showed his tachograph ID and cracked windscreen to match the night-time footage as proof of his presence.

Second Witness: Jose Aleixo Duarte

Another trucker, Jose Aleixo Duarte, told Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha that Jota overtook him “at a moderate speed” just five minutes before the accident. Duarte also criticized the road conditions, calling them “bad and dangerous.”

Conflicting Reports & Road Safety Concerns

While police continue their investigation, including skid mark analysis, they maintain Jota was likely speeding. But road safety expert Javier Lopez Delgado believes multiple factors contributed, including:

• Poor road surface

• Faulty tyre or low pressure

• Poorly designed central barrier

• Overtaking at a curved point

Delgado also referenced another crash eight days earlier at the same location where a 60-year-old woman was severely injured, saying: “When two different cars come off the road at the same kilometre point, something’s up.”

Jota’s Final Journey

Jota, 28, was traveling to Santander with his brother to catch a ferry to the UK. He had recently undergone lung surgery and was advised against flying.

Just days before, on June 22, he had married his childhood sweetheart, Rute Cardoso, with whom he shared three young children.

The brothers were buried in their hometown of Gondomar, Portugal, on Saturday, with Liverpool teammates and Portugal national players in attendance.