Delivery driver who lost part of leg after Garda car collision desperate to get home to Brazil
The Brazilian delivery driver who lost part of his leg when he was struck by a Garda[1] car on Ireland’s busiest motorway is desperate to get back home, his mother says.
"His will now is to come back to Brazil with his girlfriend after being recovered," Joao Henrique Ferreira[2]’s mother Sheila Thomaz said last night – three days after Saturday’s horror smash on the M50 in Dublin.
Mr Ferreira (23), who has lived in Ireland for the last five years, suffered serious injuries when he was struck by an unmarked garda car on the motorway at around 3.30pm on Sunday – an incident that is now being investigated by GSOC[3], the independent policing watchdog.
The Brazilian man suffered serious injuries following the collision – which happened when he and other Brazilians were following a bike of one of their friends that had been stolen in south Dublin[5] earlier in the day.
The bike had a tracking device fitted to it and the Brazilians were following it with the help of that technology.
Once they got close to it, they contacted gardai who rushed to the scene – but one of the vehicles hit Mr Ferreira, who was standing on the slip road to the motorway from the N81 in Tallaght.
Joao Henrique Ferreira who was knocked down on the M50 by a Garda car
He was treated at the scene, before being rushed to Tallaght Hospital, where he had part of his right leg amputated.
His mother Sheila, whose husband Anderson Farias is the mayor of the south coast city Sao Jose dos Campos, flew to Dublin as soon as she heard about the crash- and was at his bedside yesterday.
She told Brazilian news site G1: "My son is no longer at risk of dying. I am here with him. I want to focus on that.
"(Yesterday) 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."
Sheila Thomaz mother on man who lost a leg after he was hit by a Garda car
GSOC has now launched an investigation as the incident involved a garda vehicle and gardai have also appealed to anyone with information on the incident to contact them.
Gardai have also urged the public to stop sharing a picture of the incident that has been circulated widely on social media platforms.
Joao's loving girlfriend, Julia, has now set up a GoFundMe for her partner in the hope of raising funds to help towards the cost of the prosthesis that he must use. New prosthetic legs are quite expensive in Ireland, costing between €12,000 and €15,000.
So far the fundraiser has raised just over a quarter of its €10,000 goal.
Julia also asked people to keep praying for her partner and thanked everyone for their kindness and generosity so far in contributing to the fundraiser.
A post on the GoFundMe website read: "Hi all, I'm Julia, Joao's girlfriend. Many people came to me wanting to help Joao. Firstly, praying for his health and recovery.
"For those who want to contribute financially with the prosthesis that he must use, here is a crowdfunding where you can help him with the amount you want and can and from now on, both me and the family can only thank and ask that God bless Joao and everyone who is collaborating with us.
"Keep praying for Joao. Thank you all so much."
To donate to the fundraiser for Joao, head here[6].
References
- ^ Garda (www.irishmirror.ie)
- ^ Joao Henrique Ferreira (www.irishmirror.ie)
- ^ GSOC (www.irishmirror.ie)
- ^ Family of delivery driver who lost leg after being hit by Garda car on M50 tell of their horror (www.irishmirror.ie)
- ^ south Dublin (www.irishmirror.ie)
- ^ here (www.gofundme.com)