Diogo Jota crash witness disputes police account

Tributes are expected to be paid to Diogo Jota and Andre Silva at tonight's BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards, following the brothers' tragic deaths earlier this year.

Liverpool star Jota and Silva, who played for Portuguese side Penafiel, were killed in a car crash in the Spanish province of Zamora in the early hours of July 3, leaving the world of sport in shock as tributes immediately poured in. Jota was just 28, while his brother was only 25.

Having won both the Premier League title with Liverpool and the Nations League with Portugal last season, Jota's untimely death tragically came less than two weeks after he married his childhood sweetheart Rute Cardoso, with whom he had three young children.

In another cruel twist, it emerged that, at the time of the accident, the Reds forward had been driving to the northern Spanish port city of Santander with his brother to catch a ferry to the UK for pre-season training, having been advised not to travel by plane after undergoing minor lung surgery in Portugal.

The aftermath of the fatal crash saw the Spanish Civil Guard, who were investigating the accident, state that "everything is pointing to a tyre blowout as the car was overtaking," with Jota's £180,000 Lamborghini Huracan veering off the road before bursting into flames.

In a later statement, police suggested that the Liverpool star had been speeding at the time of the accident, with evidence indicating that the vehicle he was driving "significantly exceeded" the speed limit for the road (120kph/74mph) before crashing.

“The expert report is still being worked on and finalised," the statement read. “Among other things traffic police from the Zamora branch of the Civil Guard are studying the tread marked by one of the wheels of the vehicle.

"Everything is also pointing to a possible high excess of speed over the permitted speed on that stretch of the motorway.

“All the tests carried out for the moment point to the driver of the crash vehicle being Diogo Jota. The expert police report when it is finalised will be handed over to a court in Puebla de Sanabria.”

However, the official police statement has since been disputed by other drivers who witnessed the crash, who said that the car being driven by Jota was not speeding and was instead travelling at a "moderate speed".

Trucker Jose Azevedo, who claimed to be the author of footage which later circulated on the internet of Jota's car in flames, said that the vehicle had passed by him "super calmly".

“There’s a video on the Internet, on TV, of Diogo Jota’s car on fire at night,” he said. “Supposedly it was a lorry driver who filmed it and didn't provide first aid. Well, that lorry driver was me. I filmed it and I have proof of it.”

“I stopped, grabbed the fire extinguisher and tried to help. Because of the impact of the accident - forget it - there was nothing I could do. Nothing, absolutely nothing! As for the family, my condolences, my sincere feelings. I have a clear conscience, I know what I saw.

"They passed me super calmly, without speeding, without speeding," he added. "You have my word that they weren't speeding. They were going super-calmly. I drive this road every day, from Monday to Saturday, and I know what it's like.

“It's a dark road and I could see the make of the car, the colour of the car, everything. I filmed it, I stopped, I tried to help, but unfortunately there was nothing I could do. My conscience is clear.”

Mr Azevedo's claims were later supported by another truck driver, named locally as Jose Aliexo Duarte, who told Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha that he had been overtaken by Jota’s car "at a moderate speed" five minutes before the accident occurred, with the road "in a bad state".