A Brazilian cyclist who was killed on Abbey Street in Dublin city centre in April in a crash with a cement truck suffered “multi-organ injuries”, the inquest into his death heard on Tuesday.
Johnny Santos Xavier De Abreu (27), from São Vicente in the state of São Paulo, had quit his job in Brazil and moved to Dublin to study English just a few weeks before the incident.
Xavier was on his way to school on an electric bicycle when the crash took place at the junction of Middle Abbey Street and O’Connell Street in Dublin 1.
The deceased’s sister, Isabela Xavier, said in April that it was his second road incident in Dublin since he moved in March.
READ MORE
The inquest at Dublin District Coroner’s Court took place with a Portuguese interpreter present for the family of the deceased, who called into the court by video-link from Brazil.
The court heard testimony from a long-time friend of Xavier who identified his body, as the deceased had no family in Ireland.
The two grew up together in Brazil and, in a translated statement, the friend stated that he “immediately recognised” the body as that of his “childhood friend”.
There was “no doubt in my mind that it was Johnny”, he said in the statement.
Garda Karl Bolger, of Store Street Garda station, said he oversaw the identification of the body at the viewing area of Dublin City Mortuary the day after the crash.
The court heard that the medical cause of death based on the postmortem carried out by the State Pathologist was “multi-organ injuries”.
Garda Inspector John L’Estrange requested an adjournment of the inquest to allow for a criminal investigation into the incident to continue.
He told the court that An Garda Síochána is currently waiting for a report from the forensic collision investigation that is needed for a file to be compiled and sent to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). The DPP will then decide whether charges should be brought in relation to the death.
Coroner Dr Clare Keane granted the requested six-month adjournment until January 26th, 2027. Keane offered her condolences to the Xavier family and explained that they would be waiting for the completion of the active investigation for the inquest to be heard.
