The four young people who died inside a BMW at the Balneário Camboriú bus station were victims of asphyxiation due to carbon monoxide, concluded the expertise of the Santa Catarina security forces.
According to the investigation, the gas leak occurred due to irregular modifications to the luxury vehicle's exhaust system. The suspicion raised on the day of the deaths, on the morning of January 1st, was confirmed at a press conference this Friday (12) by the Public Security Secretariat.
The Scientific Police's conclusion was obtained after carrying out 18 expert examinations on the victims' bodies and the vehicle. In addition, witnesses, family members and owners of mechanical workshops where the customizations were made were interviewed.
The person responsible for one of these workshops, in the interior of Minas Gerais, and three mechanics, who will be questioned next week, must be held responsible. “The investigation points to their indictment for manslaughter, as they were responsible for the failures and irregularities found,” said delegate Vicente Soares.
The investigations revealed the replacement of the catalyst, mandatory equipment for reducing pollutants, with manufactured equipment, improperly installed and with welding failures. Experts found that this equipment, known as 'downpipe', it broke, leaking carbon monoxide.
The gas was taken into the vehicle by the air conditioning, intoxicating the victims to death.
Blood tests on the young people identified carbon monoxide concentrations at levels close to or greater than 50, which is considered highly lethal.
Gustavo Pereira Silveira Elias, aged 24, Karla Aparecida dos Santos, aged 19, Tiago de Lima Ribeiro, aged 21, and Nicolas Kovaleski, aged 16, were found unconscious inside the car by the girlfriend of one of them. The deaths were confirmed at the scene.
Understand the case
The four young people died in an imported car on the morning of January 1st, in Balneário Camboriú, on the north coast of Santa Catarina.
SAMU and the Fire Department arrived to provide assistance, but the victims, three men and one woman, did not resist. According to firefighters, the victims were in cardiorespiratory arrest.
A woman, who was also in the car, survived. The victims were in a BMW with a license plate from Belo Horizonte, capital of Minas Gerais.
According to the Santa Catarina Fire Department, the call happened around 7:30 in the morning. The people in the car were treated by SAMU and Fire Department teams for 40 minutes, when the SAMU medical team declared the victims dead.
The Fire Department also says that all emergency teams from Balneário Camboriú were used to care for the young people. After completing the procedures, the Firefighters called the PM, the Civil Police and the Scientific Police.
Source: CNN Brasil
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