A friend who was with the businessman says he consumed alcohol; accident killed app driver
Businessman Fernando Sastre de Andrade Filho, the driver of the Porsche that caused the death of app driver Ornaldo da Silva Viana, said he only drank water on the night of the accident. He was arrested by the TJ-SP (São Paulo Court of Justice) on Friday (May 3, 2024) and is on the run.
Hours before the arrest warrant was issued, he gave an interview to “Fantastic“, from the TV Globo, shown on Sunday night (May 5). He disputed the statement made by his friend who was with him in the car at the time of the accident that he had drunk alcohol. “I had water, I asked for water“, he said.
The accident occurred on March 31, on Avenida Salim Farah Maluf, in the east zone of São Paulo. According to investigations, the car was traveling at high speed before hitting Ornaldo’s vehicle, at almost 115 km/h. Moments before the collision, the speed was 156.4 km/h.
“So, inside the car I didn’t have that feeling that I was going at such speed. In fact, I think it would be worth a second examination, a second analysis, to be sure of this assessment.”, declared Fernando to “Fantastic”.
He said that, before the accident, he went to a restaurant with his girlfriend and a couple of friends. “There, we order appetizers, drinks,” he stated, adding that he drank water. Afterwards, the group went to a gambling house.
According to what the couple of friends told the police, Fernando and his girlfriend argued when they left the gambling house because she didn’t want the businessman to drive under the influence of alcohol. The friend then got into the Porsche and the girlfriend went to another car.
Fernando said that the change of seats had already been made on the way from the restaurant to the gaming house. According to the businessman, the friend wanted “to know” the Porsche. He declared that, as in the restaurant, he did not consume alcoholic beverages in the gaming house. “I didn’t drink in the first room, I didn’t drink at the poker house either“, he said.
At the time of the accident, it was not possible to take a breathalyzer test, because Fernando’s mother, Daniela Cristina de Medeiros Andrade, went to the scene of the accident and took her son away. There was authorization from the Military Police, who were already present. The mother said she would take Fernando to the hospital, but they went home.
According to Fernando, his mother took him home to get his medical insurance card. “When I get home, I feel very out of control, I get very nervous about everything that is happening. She gives me some medicine and then I black out”, said the businessman.
He denied that he had received special treatment from the police at the scene of the accident. “I was treated like anyone else”, he stated.
In a note displayed by “Fantastic”, the Public Security Secretariat said it had identified “procedural failures by the police officers who responded to the incident, for not following the normal rules in force and not submitting the driver to a blood alcohol test”. A process was opened to hold the agents accountable.
Fernando was charged with the crimes of qualified intentional homicide, with a prison sentence that can vary between 12 and 30 years, in addition to very serious bodily injury, which can increase the total sentence by up to 1/6.
The businessman’s defense states that he will only surrender to justice when there is a guarantee that Fernando will be safe in prison.
