Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Brazil crash escape: Out-of-control car runs over woman and her five-year-old grandson's head - yet they get up unscathed

Incredible footage shown on local TV was captured by street-side security camera

Adam Withnall
Thursday 23 January 2014 11:53 GMT
Comments
Footage posted online showed the extraordinary moment this woman and child were mown down by an out-of-control car - and jumped straight back up
Footage posted online showed the extraordinary moment this woman and child were mown down by an out-of-control car - and jumped straight back up (YouTube)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

At first it seems like there is no way the woman and child seen mown down in this video could possibly survive the incident.

In footage which played out on local Brazilian TV and has since been viewed thousands of times online, Vilma Nascimento and her five-year-old grandson Joao can be seen walking along the street hand-in-hand.

Up ahead of them a car tries to pull out of a side road at the same time as another vehicle comes speeding towards the camera - and as the two crash, the second is sent swerving out of control.

It crashes into a parked Chevrolet, making it plough strait into the woman and child as they try to run to the side.

Just before impact, the woman puts her body between the onrushing vehicle and her grandson. The pair are both knocked down, and two of the car's wheels run over Joao's head - yet he immediately jumps straight back up to go to her grandmother's aid.

Incredibly, not only was the boy released from hospital that same day following routine tests, media in Brazil reported that Vilma was also discharged one day later after suffering minor wounds to her legs and feet.

One media outlet's report on Tuesday's incident, near Annapolis in central Brazil, has already been viewed tens of thousands of times. Many commented along similar lines to user Rylw22, who wrote: "It's as if they were protected by the hand of God."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in