Driver, cyclist and bicycle after accident
A cyclist, David Santos Souza, had his arm amputated after being hit by a car on Avenida Paulista in São Paulo on Sunday morning, March 10th. According to the Fire Department, the victim was taken a nearby hospital (Hospital das Clínicas).
The accident happened around 6 am, near Maria Figueiredo street. Around 7:50 a.m., three lanes of the road remained blocked off, according to the CET (Companhia de Engenharia de Tráfego or Traffic Engineering Company).
The Águia-06 helicopter of the Military Police, was used to assist in the search for cyclist’s arm that was thrown into a river on Ricardo Jafet avenue in the south zone of the city by the driver who ran him over. At 9:30 am, the Fire Department crews were on the scene, searching by land.
Souza being helped after accident
Alex Kozloff Siwek, 22, the driver of the car who didn’t stop to help, fled the scene after the accident, but eventually turned himself in at a Military Police location, where he was interrogated and sent to the 78thprecinct that is investigating the case.
During the Sunday morning (10), members of the Fire Department conducted searches in the area.
There was a protest at the door of the police station. The driver’s father was also harassed by protesters. In solidarity, many cyclists protesters laid down on Avenida Paulista demanding justice.
According to results of a clinical examination, released on Tuesday, March 12, Siwek, 21, was drunk when he ran over Souza. This is one of the first cases in which the clinical examination confirmed the guilt of the accused. Before, it was necessary to appoint a breathalyzer level of at least 0.6 grams of alcohol per liter of blood from the driver, but this was not required to take the test, which is what ends up happening most of the time.
River near Ricardo Jafet avenue
After Siwek refused to blow into the device, the police requested a clinical examination, conducted by IML (Instituto Médico Legal or Institute of Forensic Medicine) and taken according to external signals, such as red eyes and odor of alcohol on the breath.
David Santos Souza, who has been recuperating from the accident, will receive a prosthesis that is worth more than R$80,000 (about US$40,000). The orthopedics technician Nelson Nole owns a prosthesis shop and will donate a piece of high-tech equipment.
Bikers in an act of protest
“We will put on what’s best for restoring the citizenship of that boy again. We will help him doing his prosthesis.”
In the coming days, a prosthetic technician will go to the hospital where David is admitted to make an assessment to know the level of the boy’s amputation. From this analysis, a prosthetic arm will be made especially for him. The high-tech piece will even allow him to draw, which is one of Souza’s hobbies.
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