Street cleaner who was run over had been on the job for two months and leaves behind a 1-year-old daughter and pregnant wife

Garbage collector Diêgo Rafael da Silva, 19, who died after being struck by a Chinese businessman on Rua do Bosque, in the Barra Funda neighborhood, in the western zone of São Paulo, on Sunday night (26), had been working in the city's waste collection for two months, since May. He was an employee of Loga, the concessionaire responsible for waste collection in the area.

The collector was married, and leaves behind a 1-year-and-3-month-old daughter and a pregnant wife.

Silva was waiting for waste to be emptied from a container into the garbage truck. He was on the left side of the truck when the vehicle driven by Guofang Huang, 53 — a black 2010 Land Rover Discovery — struck him.

Upon impact, Diêgo was thrown to the front of the truck. The cap he was wearing was also flung off, landing near where he had been standing before being hit.

According to the police report, Huang did not stop and fled the scene. A motorcycle courier who witnessed the incident followed him, and the businessman returned to the address shortly afterward. The garbage truck driver intervened to prevent Huang from being attacked by witnesses. He was subjected to a breathalyzer test, which registered 0.73 mg/l of alcohol per liter of alveolar air — above the legal limit of 0.34 mg/l, which constitutes a criminal offense.

Silva died at the Santa Casa hospital, in the Vila Buarque neighborhood, in central São Paulo.

Huang remained silent at the police station, refusing to answer questions. He appeared at a custody hearing at the Barra Funda courthouse on Monday afternoon, and his detention was converted to preventive custody with no set time limit.

As of Monday evening, he had not yet been admitted to any CDP (Provisional Detention Center) and was therefore expected to spend the night in a police station holding cell.

According to Loga, the concessionaire's truck was parked and properly marked in accordance with safety protocols.

Huang's defense team, composed of attorneys Lucas Quintela and Jéssica Narjara Camillis, stated that it received the news of the arrest with composure and would closely monitor the investigation, cooperating for the full clarification of the facts.

"At this time, it is essential to emphasize that the circumstances of the incident are still being investigated by the competent authorities, which is why any premature conclusion regarding potential criminal liability would be hasty," the defense stated.

The defense highlighted that the Federal Constitution guarantees every person the right to due process of law, to adversarial proceedings, to a full defense, and to the presumption of innocence — guarantees that must be respected throughout the entire criminal prosecution.

"Out of respect for the investigation, for the victim's family, and for the proper conduct of the proceedings, the defense will not comment on the merits of the facts at this time, reserving its right to speak exclusively before the competent authorities and, in due course, when it has full access to the elements of the investigation," it concluded.