On Wednesday evening, independent Tainara Souza, aged 31, died. She spent 25 days in the hospital — first at the Vereador José Storopolli Municipal Hospital, then at the Hospital das Clínicas (HC) — after being hit and dragged by the car of a man with whom she had a brief relationship in São Paulo. During the time he was in the health units, the victim had both legs amputated following the attack, among other procedures.
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The collision occurred on November 29 around 6 a.m., on Avenida Morvan Dias de Figueiredo and continued to Rua Manguari, near Marginal Tietê, one of the busiest highways in the capital of São Paulo. She had left a bar in Parque Novo Mundo, in the North zone, shortly before.
The attacker, identified as 26-year-old Douglas Alves da Silva, fled the scene without rendering aid, but was arrested the next day when he attempted to take a gun from one of the officers and was eventually shot dead. He was already accused of attempted femicide and, with Tainara’s death, he will now be held responsible for the completed form of the crime.
Images showing the victim trapped in a moving car sparked unrest and outrage. According to the investigation, she was dragged for more than a kilometer on the roads.
Witnesses said Douglas got into an argument with Tainara after seeing her with another man at a bar. He then got into the car and walked towards the victim. According to reports, the two never made a relationship official, maintaining casual contact on a few occasions.
Tainara’s family were called by hospital staff early in the afternoon of December 24 with the intention of saying goodbye. Around 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve, the death was confirmed. She leaves two children, a 12-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl.
In total, Tainara underwent more than five surgeries during her hospitalization. In addition to the two below-the-knee amputations, in early December she underwent reconstructive procedures. Two days before her death, the patient received skin grafts in her buttocks area and underwent a tracheotomy to remove the breathing tube. From that point on, however, his body stopped responding to the medication, as reported by those close to him.
In a moving statement on social media, Tainara’s mother, Lúcia Aparecida da Silva, thanked the family for the messages of prayer, affection and love received. She also demanded justice.
“It is with great pain that I come to inform you that our little warrior, Tay, has left us. She has been resting,” Lucia said in a post on Instagram stories. “She has just left this cruel world and is with God. It is an immense pain, but the suffering is over and now is the time to seek justice.”
Tainara was described by her childhood friends as a dear, happy and sweet person and a lover of dance. She also frequented the stands at Floodplains matches in São Paulo, as a passionate fan of the Vila Maria Apache team.
—It’s the Varzian woman. Mother, daughter, spirited, happy, like many of us. She represents us all — Sandra Aparecida Pereira, founder and president of the Mulheres da Várzea Oficial de SP group, told the g1 portal. — He was always there, clapping, smiling, wearing the team colors. The floodplain was part of her life, and she was part of the life of the floodplain.
Pereira also blamed the authorities for the matter:
— Tainara will not be forgotten. She will continue to live in our fight. I ask our governments to look at us women, to look at our peripheries. (With g1)
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