Just 10 days after their happy wedding, Diogo Jota and his brother died in a horrific accident on the A-52 motorway, and this may be what really happened on that fateful final journey.

According to information from Spanish authorities, the accident that killed Liverpool FC’s Diogo Jota (28 years old) and his younger brother Andre Silva (26 years old) occurred at 0:35 a.m. on July 3 (local time) on the A-52 highway through the town of Cernadilla, Zamora province, only about 16km from the Portuguese border.

The remaining pieces of the car

From the debris left on the road, authorities determined that the two brothers were driving a Lamborghini Huracan Evo Spyder supercar before the accident. The supercar, which cost around £180,000 (VND6.4 billion) before being upgraded, had a top speed of around 322 km/h and the ability to accelerate from 0 to 96.56 km/h in just 3.1 seconds.

It is still unclear who was driving at the time of the accident. However, police suspect that the cause may have been a blown tire as the Lamborghini attempted to overtake another vehicle.

The tragedy occurred as the brothers were traveling east on a deserted highway. The car suddenly veered off the road, flipped several times before bursting into flames, burning the surrounding vegetation.

Spanish government official Ángel Blanco confirmed that both victims died at the scene.

It is known that at the time of the accident, Diogo and his younger brother were on their way to the port city of Santander to catch the Brittany Ferries ferry to Plymouth (UK), scheduled to depart at 4:00 p.m. the same day. 

According to Portuguese media, the Liverpool star was advised by doctors not to fly because he had just undergone lung surgery. To ensure his health, he decided to choose the option of traveling by car and ferry to return to England, preparing for Liverpool’s first training session before the new season next Monday.

Fans were saddened by Jota’s passing (Photo: AFP)

“He had undergone lung surgery and was advised not to fly. So he chose to travel to the northern Spanish port of Santander by ferry and continue his journey by car after arriving in the UK,” CNN Portugal sports editor Rui Loura said. 

Journalist Victor Pinto also said: “Diogo has chosen to travel by road several times because he has a mild respiratory problem, it is not serious and he is used to this journey.”

Jota married his long-time girlfriend Rute Cardoso in his hometown of Porto on June 22, less than two weeks ago. The couple have three children together. In his last Instagram post, the Portuguese footballer shared a picture of the happy wedding with the emotional caption: “I am a lucky man.”

The sudden deaths of Jota and his brother Andre have shocked the sporting world. Liverpool FC released a statement saying they were “devastated” by the tragedy and expressed their deepest condolences to Diogo’s family and fans. Outside Anfield, fans laid flowers, scarves and notes of condolence.

Currently, the exact cause of the incident is still being investigated by the authorities.