Crazed driver runs over man twice in Campinas, Brazil

On Saturday, in Campinas, Brazil, Cristian dos Santos, 28, struck Gustavo Francisco, 26, in a disturbing incident captured on surveillance footage. The video showed dos Santos reversing into Francisco and dragging him underneath his vehicle, prompting Francisco's friend, a 34-year-old man, to intervene. In a reckless maneuver, dos Santos accelerated towards the pair again, hitting the friend and tossing him onto the car's hood before throwing him off. Tragically, dos Santos repeated the act, deliberately crashing into Francisco, who succumbed to his injuries after being transported to a local medical facility. The friend was hospitalized with unspecified injuries. Following the incident, dos Santos was detained by the São Paulo Military Police. He claimed self-defense, asserting that he was threatened by Francisco and his friend, alleging that one of them fired a gun. However, the security camera footage analyzed by the São Paulo Civil Police did not corroborate his claims, revealing no evidence of a firearm. The police noted that, even if a weapon had been present, dos Santos was not facing an immediate threat and could have escaped the situation instead of escalating it. Currently, dos Santos faces charges of murder and attempted murder, as investigators assess the circumstances of the incident, highlighting concerns over the use of self-defense motives in such violent altercations.