Two Portuguese lorry drivers who witnessed the car crash that killed footballer Diogo Jota and his brother have challenged the police statement that the Liverpool FC winger may have been speeding.
Spanish police said on Tuesday they believed Jota was driving over the speed limit when he and his brother were killed in a car crash in Spain last week.
According to preliminary reports, the Lamborghini they were travelling in veered off course after a tyre burst.
One of the lorry drivers, José Aleixo Duarte, said the Lamborghini passed him five minutes before the crash and was being driven at a moderate speed.
"They weren't speeding. The road was in terrible condition," Duarte said in comments first reported by the Madeira-based online news site Funchal Notícias and picked up by Spanish media.
A second lorry driver, José Azevedo, claimed to have filmed the aftermath and said he had stopped to help but was unable to do anything.
"My conscience is clear. I give my word to the family: they weren't speeding," he said.
Both drivers said that the A52 is dark, dangerous and poorly maintained.
Azevedo, who drives it daily, said: "I've seen reckless driving before, but they were completely calm."
Police say the investigation into the cause of the crash is still ongoing, but these new testimonies may change the course of the probe.
The siblings died in the car when it burst into flames on an isolated section of the A52 highway in the early hours of 3 July.
Portuguese media reported Jota was heading to the northern Spanish city of Santander to take a ferry to England, where he would rejoin Liverpool for pre-season training after being advised not to fly following a recent lung procedure.
Their funeral was held in Portugal on Saturday.
Jota's death was met with a wave of tributes from the world of football.
"The Portuguese Football Federation and the entire Portuguese football community are completely devastated by the deaths of Diogo Jota and André Silva, this morning in Spain," the Portuguese FA said in a statement last Thursday.
"We have lost two champions. The passing of Diogo and André Silva represents irreparable losses for Portuguese Football, and we will do everything to honour their legacy daily."
Jota's brother, André Silva, was also a footballer who played for Liga Portugal 2 side Penafiel.
Jota's club, Liverpool FC, also released a statement last Thursday, saying they were "devastated by the tragic passing." The club is also mulling retiring Jota's number 20 shirt, a move which would represent the Premier League club's first.
FC Porto, where he spent a year on loan during the 2016-17 season, also expressed its condolences following the news of Jota's passing.
"Porto Football Club is in mourning," the club said in a post on X. "It is with shock and deep regret that we send our most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva, who was also our athlete in the youth categories."
Jota married his long-time partner Rute Cardoso less than two weeks before the crash on 22 June. The couple had three children.
