A serious accident involving a truck loaded with leather resulted in the death of five people and left three injured on the afternoon of this Friday (9), on the RN-023 highway, between the municipalities of Santa Cruz and Coronel Ezequiel, in the interior of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
The tragedy occurred on a stretch known as “Ladeira de Brasília,” where the truck lost control, hit a guardrail, overturned, and fell into the embankment.
The Mobile Emergency Service (Samu) confirmed the five deaths at the scene, and Military Police teams isolated the area immediately after the collision.
According to reports provided by the corporation itself, the truck was completely destroyed by the impact.
Videos recorded by locals who were in the area show a scene of destruction, with bodies strewn about, parts of the vehicle twisted, and the leather cargo strewn across the ground.
Samu reported that the truck was carrying at least eight people at the time of the accident. Three of them were in the cab and the rest in the back, an irregular practice, still common in rural areas and difficult to control. The injured were rescued and taken to the Aluízio Bezerra Regional Hospital in Santa Cruz.
Among the injured, a man suffered a pelvic fracture and, due to the severity of his condition, was transferred to the Monsenhor Walfredo Gurgel Hospital, a trauma center located in Natal, the state capital.
The stretch where the accident occurred is considered dangerous by local residents due to its steep slope and sharp curves. There is still no official confirmation of the cause of the vehicle’s loss of control, but the main suspicion is a mechanical failure or problems with the brake system.
Police authorities continue to investigate the case. As of early evening, the victims’ bodies were still being removed with the support of the Technical Scientific Institute of Paris (Itep-RN), which was called in to conduct the on-site investigation.
