Mom of 2 Dies on Christmas Eve Following Month-Long Coma After Man Allegedly Hit Her with Car

A woman in Brazil has died after spending nearly a month in a coma and undergoing multiple surgeries — including the amputation of both legs — following an incident in which a man she knew allegedly struck her with a car and dragged her along a highway.

According to local outlets in São Paulo, 31-year-old Taynara Souza Santos, a mother of two, died on Wednesday, Dec. 24. Police identified the driver as Douglas Alves da Silva, 26, who allegedly hit Santos with his Volkswagen on the city’s north side after leaving a bar with friends in the early hours of Nov. 29.

CNN Brasil reported that the two were acquaintances who had met several times before, and authorities said video footage helped them identify Alves da Silva as the driver.

Footage of the incident obtained by CNN shows Santos walking down a street with a man on Nov. 29 at around 6 a.m. local time. The pair move out of the camera’s view, and about 30 seconds later, Santos can be seen being dragged down the road by a car for hundreds of feet. She ultimately ended up on the nearby Marginal Tietê highway.

Police located Alves da Silva on Nov. 30. During his arrest, he allegedly attempted to grab a police officer’s gun and was shot, according to a police report obtained by CNN.

In a statement to police, a passenger in the vehicle said he repeatedly pleaded with Alves da Silva to stop after the collision. The passenger also warned him that Santos was trapped beneath the car, but alleged that the driver continued accelerating, according to CNN.

Other witnesses also allegedly told police they believed the hit-and-run was intentional, and claimed it may have been motivated by jealousy, according to Brazilian outlet UOL.

Santos was taken to Hospital das Clínicas at the University of São Paulo with severe injuries, her family told local outlets. She underwent a series of procedures, including leg amputations, an amputation in the thigh area as part of buttock reconstruction, a tracheostomy, and reconstructive plastic surgery.

At one point, she briefly regained consciousness, but her condition deteriorated after her final surgery, according to local outlet CBN.

Santos, the mother of a 12-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl, died around 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve, her family told local outlets.

Alves da Silva was initially investigated for attempted femicide, and police said the charge is expected to be updated following Santos’ death.

“My only feeling towards him is anger,” Santos’ sister, Tatiana Souza Santos, told UOL on Dec. 3. “What he did makes no sense at all. He has no right to do this to anyone.”