The heartbroken parents of two young men run-over and left in the road to die delivered a petition to parliament yesterday, signed by over 10,000 people, calling for much tougher sentences for dangerous driving, and incidents of hit-and-runs.
The scourge of hit-and-run incidents in Portugal has already been in the news, for rising exponentially. This paper frequently writes about them, and earlier this month brought news of yet another.
The deaths of 21-year-olds Afonso Gonçalves and João Gago have utterly devastated the young men’s families.
In the case of Afonso, the taxi driver who hit him, and left him lying in the road, has a considerable criminal history which includes a similar incident – yet he is still driving.
CNN Portugal delved into this tragedy last year, stressing: “The suspect, who was once a firefighter, has already killed another person in a hit-and-run accident and has been charged with bodily harm, as well as possession of a prohibited weapon, speculation, and several offences of negligence followed by failure to render assistance.”
And yet, public prosecutors did not throw the book at him. Far from it, by all accounts, he is continuing with his life as before – contrary to the way in which he left his victim.
As CNN said in its report of October, 2024, the family “is in shock over the criminal history of the taxi driver, and cannot understand the public prosecutor’s inaction.
Yesterday’s petition thus grew from this feeling of incredulity and abandonment by authorities which should be ensuring the safety of Portuguese citizens, not protecting those who harm them.
The document will now be taken to meetings of parliamentary groups, says Guimarães, Agora – an online news website that has taken this initiative very much to heart as the family of Afonso Gonçalves is from the district, and linked to its cultural/ academic background.
“The (petition’s) objective is to make MPs aware of the need to support the public petition calling for tougher sentencing for dangerous driving and the omission of help in fatal cases in cases of hit-and-run incidents”, says the online.
This is not a petition about Afonso Gonçalves and João Gago, stresses Guimararães, Agora, it is about all the Afonsos and Joãos out there, leading their lives, who go on to be mown down as they cross a public highway. This is so that other families “do not have to go through the same pain”.
The petition is still gathering signatures on the Petição Pública site. See it here
source: Correio da Manhã/ Guimarães, Agora
