The force of the collision threw her forward into the front of the vehicle.
Na tarde de uma quinta-feira comum, uma família retornava para casa pela BR-116 quando uma manobra de conversão à esquerda transformou o trajeto em tragédia irreversível. Neila, Débora e a pequena Cecília — com apenas um ano de vida — morreram em decorrência de uma colisão frontal com um caminhão no trecho entre Estância Velha e Novo Hamburgo, região conhecida há muito tempo pela sua periculosidade. A morte de três pessoas, entre elas uma criança, não é apenas um acidente de trânsito: é o reflexo persistente de uma via que acumula perdas e ainda aguarda respostas à altura do seu histórico.
- Uma manobra de conversão à esquerda na BR-116 desencadeou uma colisão frontal violenta que não deixou tempo sequer para frear.
- Duas mulheres morreram no local; a filha de um ano, Cecília, foi encontrada viva pelos socorristas, mas sucumbiu às ferimentos no dia seguinte em Porto Alegre.
- A Polícia Rodoviária Federal analisa imagens de uma câmera instalada no caminhão para reconstituir os segundos que antecederam o impacto.
- O acidente bloqueou uma faixa da rodovia e gerou um congestionamento de mais de três quilômetros, expondo mais uma vez a fragilidade do chamado 'trecho da morte'.
- As três vítimas foram sepultadas juntas no sábado, enquanto investigadores seguem tentando compreender como um retorno rotineiro se converteu em luto coletivo.
Na noite de quinta-feira, 14 de maio, um Honda HR-V cruzou a faixa central da BR-116, próximo ao quilômetro 232.5, e colidiu de frente com um caminhão. Quando os socorristas chegaram ao local — um trecho que os moradores da região chamam de 'estrada da morte' — duas pessoas já haviam morrido. A terceira não resistiria até o dia seguinte.
Neila Patrícia Gomes de Medina e Débora Juliana Reinheimer Marques, ambas com 39 anos e companheiras, tinham passado a tarde em Ivoti com a filha Cecília, de pouco mais de um ano. Na volta para Novo Hamburgo, o veículo tentou uma conversão à esquerda para acessar o bairro Roselândia. O caminhão vinha no sentido contrário. Não houve tempo de frear.
Cecília estava na cadeirinha no banco traseiro. A força do impacto a projetou para a frente do veículo. Socorristas a encontraram com vida, mas gravemente ferida. Transferida para o Hospital de Pronto Socorro em Porto Alegre, ela sobreviveu à noite, mas não resistiu aos ferimentos. Morreu na sexta-feira, 15 de maio.
A Polícia Rodoviária Federal conduz a investigação com base nas imagens de uma câmera instalada no caminhão — um registro dos segundos que desfizeram uma família. O acidente fechou uma faixa da rodovia e gerou fila de mais de três quilômetros. Os corpos foram liberados na tarde de sexta-feira, após exames no Instituto Médico-Legal de Porto Alegre. O velório ocorreu na noite de sexta, e o sepultamento, na manhã de sábado — três caixões partindo juntos de uma rodovia que já acumulou perdas demais.
On Thursday evening, May 14th, as the sun was dropping toward the horizon, a Honda HR-V crossed the center line of BR-116 near Novo Hamburgo and collided head-on with a truck traveling in the opposite direction. The impact was catastrophic. By the time emergency crews arrived at kilometer 232.5 of the highway—a stretch locals call the "death road"—two people were already gone. The third would follow the next day.
Neila Patrícia Gomes de Medina and Débora Juliana Reinheimer Marques, both 39 years old, died at the scene. They were partners, residents of Novo Hamburgo, and they had spent the afternoon in Ivoti with their daughter, Cecília, who was just over a year old. The family was heading home when the driver of the HR-V attempted a left turn to access the Roselândia neighborhood. The truck was coming from the opposite direction. There was no time to brake.
Cecília was in a car seat in the back. The force of the collision threw her forward into the front of the vehicle. Paramedics found her alive but badly hurt. They rushed her to the Municipal Hospital of Novo Hamburgo, then transferred her to the Hospital de Pronto Socorro in Porto Alegre. She survived the night and part of the next day, but her injuries were too severe. On Friday, May 15th, she died.
The Federal Highway Police are investigating using footage from a dashcam mounted on the truck. That video, now in the hands of authorities, shows the moment of impact—a record of the seconds that unmade a family. The collision forced authorities to close one lane of the highway. Traffic backed up for more than three kilometers. Even hours later, as darkness fell, drivers were still crawling through the area, delayed by the aftermath of what had happened.
The three were buried together. The funeral home released their bodies late Friday afternoon, after the medical examiner's office in Porto Alegre completed its work. The viewing was set for Friday evening, between 8 and 10 p.m. The burial would follow on Saturday morning. In the days after, investigators continued their work, trying to understand how a routine drive home became a tragedy on a highway that has earned its grim nickname through repeated loss.
Citas Notables
The family had spent the afternoon in Ivoti at a restaurant before returning home when the collision occurred.— Family account reported by authorities
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does this stretch of highway have such a dark reputation?
It's a corridor where speed, heavy truck traffic, and split-second decisions collide. The geometry of the road, the volume of vehicles, the pressure people feel to move quickly—it all compounds. This wasn't the first family to die there.
The dashcam footage—what role does that play now?
It's evidence. It shows exactly what happened in those final seconds. Whether the driver misjudged the gap, whether visibility was poor, whether the truck driver saw the car turning. It becomes the record of why.
The child survived the initial impact but not the injuries. How long was she conscious?
We don't know. She was in critical condition from the moment paramedics found her. The hospital did what they could, but the trauma was too extensive. She made it through one night, but not much longer.
Two women, one child—a family unit. Does that change how people understand this accident?
It does. It's not abstract. It's two people who chose to build a life together, who had a daughter, who were coming home from an afternoon out. That specificity is what makes it real to people, what makes them think about their own drives home.
What happens to the investigation now?
The dashcam footage will be analyzed frame by frame. Witness statements will be collected. The truck driver's account, the road conditions, whether there were mechanical failures—all of it gets examined. But the outcome is already known. Three people are gone.