A tipsy former coordinator of anti-drunk driving program in Rio causes deadly traffic accident

In a traffic accident in the metropolitan region of Rio on Thursday night, six people were run over by a car. One of the victims is brain-dead (“morte encefálica”). The driver of the car was Alexandre Felipe Mendes, who, according to eyewitnesses was visibly under the influence of alcohol when he struck the pedestrians. Mendes is a state deputy secretary for the city (“subsecretário estadual de Governo da região metropolitana”) and was, until February, a member of the team that ran the state Anti-Drunk-Driving Campaign (“Operação Lei Seca”).

The case is being investigated by the 81st Police Precinct, in Itaipu. According to a police official, Carlos Alexandre Leite Justiniano, the deputy secretary could be charged with homicide.