Ten days after losing his wife in a traffic accident, Vanderson Luan Tavares tries to rebuild his routine with his two children, aged eight months and five years. In addition to dealing with the absence of Josiane Rodrigues Alves, 39 years old, he is also recovering from a broken shoulder suffered in the collision between the family car and an Audi on Rodovia Jornalista Francisco Aguirre Proença (SP-101), in Hortolândia (SP).
"In addition to the fractured shoulder, the heart is also fractured. Today we are missing a person who was very important, my friend, my partner, mother of my children. We always had the dream of being a father, being a mother, having a wedding, and being interrupted by that part is very difficult," said Vanderson.
The accident happened on the night of October 31, when the family was returning home after attending a church friend's birthday. Josiane was in the back seat of a Hyundai HB20S with her two children. The husband drove the vehicle.
According to Vanderson, the family faces the loss one day at a time. The mother's absence is already felt by the children, especially the youngest child, eight months old, who was still breastfed.
"At first he missed her a lot, because he was breastfed. So he took care of her, she had the zeal that she had", he reported.
According to the father, his eldest son, aged five, still does not fully understand the loss, but also shows that he misses his mother.
Josiane Rodrigues Alves, 39, was returning from a church friend's birthday with her family when her car was hit by an Audi in Hortolândia — Photo: Personal Archive
'She was everything to us'
In addition to her relationship with her children, Vanderson describes Josiane as a central presence in the organization of the house and the family's routine. According to him, she took care of the household chores, prepared meals and organized the children's appointments.
"She was the one who organized the clothes to go to daycare, she was the one who organized the baby's clothes to take care of, cleaned, made lunch, made dinner. So it's making a lot of difference in my life", she stated.
At 39 years old, Josiane had worked for 15 years in a technology company, in the area of notebook assembly. According to her husband, she was also one of the main people responsible for supporting the house.
In Vanderson's memory, his wife's presence also appears in small daily habits, such as preparing homemade bread and organizing afternoon coffee.
"She was 100% important. She was the one who planned the coffees, made the bread for us here, the homemade bread. She was the one who called us to make the afternoon coffee. So she was everything to us", he said.
Longing, according to him, appears in places and situations that are part of the family's routine.
"In every detail, in every street we pass, in every place we go, we say: 'Wow, Josi used to do it'. She would stop here, Josi would do this, Josi would do that. So we are missing it a lot", he said.
Woman died after her car was hit from behind on Highway SP-101 in Hortolândia — Photo: Artesp
Husband found out about the death at the hospital
Vanderson also recalled the moments after the collision. According to him, the impact happened shortly after entering the highway. He claims that he was driving within the speed limit and that he does not remember the moment of the crash.
"I think it was 150 meters since I entered the highway, leaving the neighborhood. Highway speed, 70, 80 km/h, even less. And when I did, I only felt an impact and a light. I don't remember anything else", he reported.
The driver says he regained consciousness when he was already being helped by people passing by. When he regained consciousness, he saw his wife lying beside him and his children crying.
At that moment, he didn't know that Josiane had died. Confirmation only came at the hospital.
"I only saw, for me, that she had just fainted from the blow. And I found out about her death at the hospital," he said.
Remember the accident
The accident happened around 11:40 pm on Saturday (31), at km 11.9 of SP-101. According to the Military Highway Police, an Audi Q5 hit the back of the Hyundai HB20S occupied by the family.
With the impact, Josiane died on the spot. The husband and two children suffered minor injuries and were rescued. The driver of the Audi left the scene without providing assistance, according to the police report.
Josiane's husband suffered a crack in his shoulder and needed medical attention. The baby had bruises on his face and underwent X-rays, which did not reveal any more serious injuries. The eldest son was not hurt.
The case was registered at the Hortolândia Police Station as manslaughter and culpable bodily injury while driving a motor vehicle, in addition to fleeing the scene of the accident. The circumstances of the collision are being investigated by the Civil Police.
