The celebration and the tragedy of Carnival
In Rio, more of the same: Beija Flor wins the championship, with a theme honoring Roberto Carlos. On federal highways, there were 3.563 accidents, 3,124 people driving under the influence of alcohol, and 189 deaths.
The results of the Rio de Janeiro Carnival brought no surprises. With the theme "The Simplicity of a King," honoring Roberto Carlos, the Beija-Flor de Nilópolis samba school won another title, the 12th in its history. On Brazilian roads, Carnival also repeated a tragedy foretold. According to the Highway Police, 3.563 accidents were recorded, with 2.152 injured since the beginning of the operation. On Tuesday alone, the last day of festivities in most of Brazil, 534 accidents were recorded. One of the biggest problems, according to the police, continues to be the consumption of alcoholic beverages combined with driving. Nearly 30 tests were conducted to measure blood alcohol content, with 3.124 positive results. The number of people arrested for drunk driving reached 437. 142.369 vehicles were inspected.
The most serious accident recorded during the period occurred in the early hours of Saturday in Santa Catarina. A tourist bus carrying a group of bowlers, a game similar to bowling, from Santo Cristo (RS) to Marechal Cândido Rondon (PR) collided head-on with a truck loaded with wood on BR-282, in the small town of Descanso, 692 kilometers from Florianópolis. On Monday, the 27th death caused by the crash was recorded, which injured another 16 people.
Just hours before the tragedy in the interior of Santa Catarina, five young people from Franca (SP) died in an accident on BR-365, between the Minas Gerais cities of Uberlândia and Monte Alegre. The group, consisting of young men and women between 19 and 20 years old, were going to spend Carnival in Ituiutaba (MG). The car they were traveling in collided head-on with a semi-truck during an overtaking maneuver, spun on the road, and was then hit by another truck. The victims were trapped in the wreckage, and firefighters had to cut open the vehicle to try to rescue them. The three passengers in the back seat were not wearing seatbelts.
SÃO PAULO
Accidents on highways in the state of São Paulo caused 24 deaths during the extended Carnival holiday. In total, there were 1.553 accidents with 676 injuries. The figures, referring to the period from Friday to Monday, are from the State Department of Transportation and were released on Wednesday afternoon.
The total number of accidents recorded on the 22 kilometers of state highways increased by 18% compared to the previous Carnival. However, the number of deaths and injuries fell by 41,6% and 20,4%, respectively. In 2010, 41 people died and 814 were injured in 1.315 accidents.
During the extended holiday weekend, the São Paulo Highway Police issued 15.443 traffic tickets, seized 1.490 vehicles, 183 driver's licenses, and 1.572 documents due to irregularities. 133 cases of drunk driving were recorded. In addition, 7,1 kilograms of drugs were seized.