DANVERS — One man is alive and in stable condition, while the mother of his close friend got word yesterday of her son's death in a violent crash on Route 128 Sunday just prior to 8 p.m.
Reginaldo Dasilva Souza, the driver and a Peabody resident, was pronounced dead at the scene. According to a preliminary investigation by state police, including Trooper Robert Noonan, Souza's 1999 Honda veered across two lanes, struck a Jersey barrier, continued onto a ramp to Route 35, then left the roadway only to strike two more barriers.
Souza had worn his seat belt and was still killed, hands clutching the steering wheel. Passenger Sidney Gomes deSouza, also of Peabody, was not wearing his and thrown about the interior of the vehicle, according to the police report.
According to his sister Neydemar Gomes, deSouza is in stable condition after being flown to Massachusetts General Hospital.
His injuries include fractured ribs, a punctured lung, a broken leg and a fractured neck. Gomes said that while deSouza is in "a lot of pain, his brain is OK. ... He recognized me and his mother. ... He's not able to talk. He knows something really bad happened."
He has not been told of his friend's death.
Doctors are "very hopeful" for deSouza, Gomes said.
"They couldn't tell us much. They say it's going to be a few days before they can. ... The signs are very good. He's using his legs."
Realizing that her brother survived the violent crash without his seat belt, his sister said, "I don't understand how he made it. ... He's lucky to be alive."
DeSouza has two daughters in Brazil, she said.
His mother happened to be visiting when the accident happened. Gomes credits her brother's survival to their mother's strong religious faith.
The two men are not related but hail from the same city in Brazil and grew up together. Gomes lamented that Souza's mother in Brazil "just got the news that he's gone."
The car was in such bad shape following the crash, on its roof and smashed at both ends, that it was difficult to determine the back from the front, the driver's side from the passenger side.
State police said excessive speed appears to have been a factor in the crash. An investigation is ongoing by Troop A and the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section of the State Police. They will determine, among other things, if alcohol played a role in the tragedy.
Troopers were assisted at the scene of the accident by Danvers police, fire and emergency medical services.
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