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Speeding likely cause of Jota death crash, Liverpool star was driving, Spanish police say

Official investigation into death of Liverpool star and his brother says everything points to ‘possible excessive speed’

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Tributes lie outside Anfield after the death of Liverpool’s Diogo Jota. Photo: Reuters

Liverpool and Portugal star Diogo Jota was likely speeding when his car veered off a motorway in Spain last week killing him and his brother, Spanish police said on Tuesday.

The shock deaths of Jota, 28, and Andre Silva, 25, on July 3 plunged the football world into mourning, less than two weeks after the striker had got married.

An ongoing investigation is examining “the marks left by one of the vehicle’s wheels … everything points to a possible excessive speed beyond the road’s speed limit”, the Civil Guard said.

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“All the tests conducted so far indicate that the driver of the vehicle was Diogo Jota,” it added.

The force had previously said a tyre had probably blown out while the vehicle was overtaking, causing it to crash and burst into flames in the northwestern province of Zamora.

A drone view shows the site of the accident where Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, died. Photo: Reuters
A drone view shows the site of the accident where Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, died. Photo: Reuters

Just hours before the accident, Jota had posted a video of his wedding to partner Rute Cardoso, with whom he had three children.

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