Highway Head-On Crash Kills Three in Brazil: Freight Truck Collides With Commuter Van on Federal Road

Brasília, Brazil— The van had no chance. On Tuesday morning a commuter van carrying farm workers collided head-on with a freight truck on BR-116 near Curitiba. Three people died at the scene.

The Federal Highway Police PRF said the crash happened at 6:50 a.m. at kilometer 142, on a two-lane stretch with no central barrier. The truck, loaded with soy, was heading south. The van, with 12 workers aboard, was heading north to a poultry plant. They met on a slight curve.

Investigators said the van appears to have drifted into the opposite lane while overtaking a slower vehicle. The truck driver braked and swerved, but the load shifted. Impact speed was estimated at over 90 kmph. The van's front was crushed to the windshield.

Three men inside the van, aged 22, 34, and 48, died trapped. Nine others were injured, three critically. The truck driver suffered minor injuries. Firefighters used hydraulic cutters to free bodies. The road smelled of diesel and blood.

"The van tried to pass on a blind spot," the truck driver told police from the roadside, shaking. "I had no room. I tried the shoulder. There was no shoulder." His statement is part of the report.

BR-116 is Brazil's deadliest federal highway. Long, poorly maintained, lined with trucks moving grain to ports. Head-on collisions account for most fatalities. Duplication of lanes has been promised for a decade. Only 30 percent is duplicated.

The PRF said the van was operating with an expired inspection and overloaded with passengers sitting on benches without seatbelts. The cooperative that owns it has two prior infractions this year. Officials seized its documents.

The highway was closed for four hours while forensic teams worked. Traffic queued for 12 kilometers. Workers late for shift stood on the roadside watching.

Tonight the wreck is in the PRF yard. Families wait at the morgue in Curitiba. The road is open again. Trucks roll past where the three died.