Construction worker dies after power saw cuts his neck at site in Bady Bassitt, Brazil.
NEWS:
A 49-year-old construction worker died after a powered cutting tool struck his neck while he was working at a construction site in Bady Bassitt, São Paulo state, Brazil, on May 14, 2026.
The victim was identified as José Roberto Pereira Gonçalves. The accident occurred at about 00:11:30 a.m. at a building under construction in the Jardim América neighborhood, in the central area of the municipality.
Video accompanying this report records the accident itself and shows the powered tool strike the worker's neck. The footage establishes the central event directly, although it does not establish why the tool moved suddenly or whether any mechanical problem contributed to the accident.
According to information recorded in the police report and subsequently made public, José Roberto was performing carpentry work approximately three meters, or about 10 feet, above ground when the equipment suddenly jerked and struck his neck.
Co-workers called the fire department after the accident. By the time emergency personnel arrived, José Roberto was already dead. Firefighters removed his body from a scaffold high on the construction structure.
Police registered the death as a workplace accident. The initial account also stated that the cutting equipment belonged personally to José Roberto.
Technical forensic personnel from the Civil Police were called to examine the construction site, which was preserved for their work. No publicly available forensic conclusion located through follow-up searches as of August 14 disclosed a definitive mechanical cause for the sudden movement of the tool.
Later information attributed to the police record provided additional detail about the equipment. While the initial account described it as an electric saw, subsequent coverage referred to a powered tool of the saw/grinder type. No publicly released forensic document located during follow-up reporting established the exact model or configuration, so the equipment cannot be characterized more specifically with certainty.
A witness told police that a noise was heard immediately before the worker was seen with the severe neck injury, according to information attributed to the police record. Later reporting also described José Roberto as performing both masonry and carpentry duties at the site.
After forensic work at the scene was completed, his body was taken to the Legal Medical Institute in São José do Rio Preto, according to the later account.
Eufrosino José Teodoro, the engineer responsible for the construction project, said the company was providing assistance to José Roberto's family. He also said the worker was wearing personal protective equipment at the time of the accident.
The engineer said he could not provide details explaining how the fatal accident happened. The available public information does not establish that the use or absence of any particular protective equipment caused or could have prevented the fatal injury.
Reports differed on the intended use of the building under construction. The initial police-based account described it as a commercial building, while other local accounts called it residential. Because no publicly available project record located during the follow-up reporting resolved that difference, the structure is described here simply as a building under construction.
The death remained classified in the available police-based reporting as a workplace accident. No publicly reported information located through August 14 indicated that another person was criminally responsible for operating the tool or causing the contact that killed José Roberto.
On June 1, the Bady Bassitt City Council recorded a formal motion of condolence for José Roberto Pereira Gonçalves, providing a later official municipal record of his death.
No subsequent publicly accessible report located through August 14 disclosed the final results of the Civil Police forensic examination or a separate labor-safety inspection specifically connected to the accident.
News story written by DarkGore.
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