A couple, their two daughters and a cousin were killed in a car crash while travelling to spend Christmas with family.
Lucas Celestino Reis, 40, and Jéssica Silva da Hora, 35, had been looking forward to their youngest daughter meeting the rest of the family for the first time.
They were travelling in one car with their daughters – Ana, eight, and Ísis, three – and Jéssica’s 19-year-old niece, Rayane Rebouças da Hora.
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Rayane’s father was driving a second car with other family members.
Both vehicles had set off from Nova Serrana, south-eastern Brazil, in the early hours of Friday (19 Dec).
Shortly into the journey to Ibicuí, north-eastern Brazil, the second car lost sight of the first.
Rayane’s father turned back to Nova Serrana, thinking they might have returned home, but found no trace of them and alerted the police.
The first car was discovered hours later, that evening, upside down in a stream beside the motorway, with the victims trapped inside.
All five were pronounced dead at the scene between Martinho Campos and Pompéu, as reported by Need To Know.
Police believe the driver of the first car lost control, causing the vehicle to cross the road, hit an embankment and land in the stream.
Parts of the car were submerged when it was found.
Lucas’s sister, Lucimar, told local media: “He was coming so we could meet his little daughter, who we never even got to know.
“It was meant to be a Christmas full of joy. The whole family was waiting for him, with everything prepared. And then we received the bodies.”
The victims were laid to rest in Ibicuí on Sunday (21 Dec).
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