Dublin

Deliveroo rider seriously injured by Garda vehicle says he wants to return home to Brazil

João Ferreira has asked his mother about whether his leg was amputated or not

João Ferreira moved to Dublin with his girlfriend, Júlia Langneck, to study English five years ago.
João Ferreira moved to Dublin with his girlfriend, Júlia Langneck, to study English five years ago.
Isabela Boechat
Tue Oct 31 2023 - 13:50

The Deliveroo rider who was seriously injured by a Garda vehicle on the M50 has told his mother that he just wants to return to Brazil.

João Ferreira (23) was among a number of Brazilians who were trying to assist a friend recover a stolen bike on Saturday afternoon by following its tracking device when the incident happened near junction 11, Tallaght.

Mr Ferreira’s father, Anderson Fariass is the mayor of São José dos Campos and is flying to Ireland to be at his son’s side. It’s understood that he will be met at Dublin Airport by the Brazilian ambassador.

His mother, Sheila Thomaz (47), from southeastern Brazil, arrived in Dublin on Sunday morning after hearing that her son was seriously injured.

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Ms Thomaz told The Irish Times that the first of several surgeries have been completed and he’s being taken good care of at Tallaght University Hospital.

“It was a long surgery with many doctors involved. It is the first one of many that he has to go through. He will probably go through another four or five. But this is how this situation is at the moment,” Mr Ferreira’s mother said.

[ ‘My son came here at 18 with a dream - now I’m going to take him home at 23 without one of his legs’ ]

The Brazilian Deliveroo rider yesterday morning asked to speak with his mother.

Ms Thomaz spoke to the Brazilian media G1, saying that her son is still intubated, but he was provided with a whiteboard to enable him to write.

“My son is no longer at risk of dying. I am here with him. I want to focus on that,” she said.

Mr Ferreira moved to Dublin with his girlfriend, Júlia Langneck, to study English five years ago.

Ms Thomaz said that he is aware that he had part of the knee downwards amputated and wants to return to Brazil as soon as he recovers from the incident.

“[Yesterday morning] he woke up again, asked to talk, to have his tubes removed. He asked to write, and it was his way to communicate with us. He asked about his leg if it was amputated or not. His will now is to come back to Brazil with his girlfriend after being recovered”, she said.

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The precise circumstances of the collision, and how all parties came to be stopped on the M50 at about 3.15pm on Saturday, are now under investigation. The case has been referred by the Garda to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc), its watchdog agency, for investigation. Any incident in which a person is seriously injured or killed at, or around, the time they have had dealings with Garda members must be investigated by Gsoc.

Gsoc issued a statement saying the incident occurred on the northbound carriageway of the M50, at junction 11 Tallaght, where the northbound on-ramp merges with the motorway.