A fugitive influencer has turned himself in to the police 10 months after leaving a newlywed groom dead in a hit-and-run accident.
Fábio Toshiro Kikuda was holding hands with his wife when he was struck by a BMW convertible on the night of 13 July 2024.
After colliding with the bonnet, the 42-year-old father landed inside the car through the open top, dying instantly.
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His wife, Bruna Villarinho Kikuta, told how the occupants got out, removed Fábio’s body from the vehicle, and placed it on the road.
They then fled the scene in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as reported by Need To Know.
Just hours before the accident, the couple of six years had tied the knot.
After the wedding reception, they had dropped their luggage off at their hotel.
The horror unfolded as they crossed the road in front of the hotel to get to the seafront for a romantic stroll.
The driver was identified as influencer and self-described freestyle footballer Vitor Vieira Belarmino.
Vitor, aged 30 at the time, had 280,000 followers on Instagram before removing his page.
His BMW was seized at a nearby condo shortly after the accident.
A headlamp was broken, the bodywork was dented, and wine stains and broken glass were found inside.
Five women were travelling in the car as passengers at the time of the collision.
They gave their statements to the police, but Vitor failed to hand himself in.
Judges ordered his arrest, originally on suspicion of manslaughter and of failure to provide assistance.
On Monday (19 May) – 10 months after the crime – Vitor finally surrendered at a police station in Rio de Janeiro.
He is charged with murder and with failure to provide assistance.
He chose not to give a statement, but his lawyer says he is “deeply regretful for not having helped” and “decided to turn himself in to cooperate with justice”.
Detectives say he was doing 109 km/h (68 mph) at the moment of impact.
Moments earlier, he had been doing 160 km/h (99 mph), even though the speed limit on the road in question is 70 km/h (43 mph).
The women who were in the car with him are also charged with failure to provide assistance.
Fábio was a physiotherapist and the father of a son, who was 15 at the time of the tragedy.
He was laid to rest in Rio de Janeiro on 15 July – the day he and Bruna, then aged 38, were supposed to go on their honeymoon.
The couple were planning to go backpacking around Japan – where Fábio’s father is from.
A friend, Bárbara Muradas, told local media at the time: “Few people have the chance to gather all their friends before they pass away.
“He was able to bring together everyone he loved on the day he left us. We try to think of that to ease the pain a little.”
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