Truck driver dies after tow truck skids on wet BR-364 near Várzea Grande, Brazil.
NEWS:
A fatal crash on a key freight corridor in central-west Brazil is drawing renewed attention to the risks of heavy-vehicle travel on wet highways, after monitoring-camera video captured a tow truck sliding across lanes and striking an oncoming tractor-trailer.
The collision happened late Thursday afternoon, February 12, 2026, on BR-364 near Várzea Grande, in the state of Mato Grosso, a metro-area gateway to Cuiabá and a major route for agricultural and industrial cargo. According to reporting that cited local authorities and an incident report, rain had left the roadway slick at the time of the crash.
The video, recorded by traffic-monitoring cameras along the concessioned stretch of highway, shows a flatbed tow truck traveling with a pickup loaded on its platform. As the tow truck approaches another vehicle in the opposite direction, its rear end appears to break traction on the wet pavement. The tow truck then drifts across the center line into oncoming lanes, where it collides with a tractor-trailer that is moving in the opposite direction. In the seconds that follow, the tractor-trailer veers off the roadway and overturns down an embankment, while the tow truck remains upright near the roadway.
Authorities later identified the tractor-trailer driver who died as Valdeci Rodrigues dos Santos, 57, according to reporting that cited the civil police. Responders reached the scene and confirmed the death on site, the reports said. The tow truck driver was not reported seriously injured, and in some accounts declined transport for additional medical evaluation. Officials did not publicly release the tow truck driver’s identity.
Investigators are now focused on the conditions that could have contributed to the loss of control. Reporting that cited the traffic-investigation unit said a breath test administered to the tow truck driver returned a negative result for alcohol. Federal highway police and forensic personnel responded to document the scene, and the victim’s body was taken for examination as part of standard procedure. Authorities have said the case remains under investigation, and no final determination about fault or a definitive sequence of contributing factors has been announced.
Even without a final investigative finding, the crash highlights a familiar danger pattern on highways with intense commercial traffic. BR-364, which connects to other major routes in Mato Grosso, routinely carries a high volume of trucks moving commodities and supplies across long distances. Heavy vehicles bring unique physics to everyday driving: longer stopping distances, greater momentum, and less room for error when road grip drops. When a tow truck is carrying a vehicle on a platform, weight distribution and center of gravity can shift in ways that make emergency corrections more difficult, especially if the driver is already fighting reduced traction.
National numbers show why incidents like this resonate beyond a single stretch of roadway. Federal highway police statistics have recorded thousands of deaths each year on Brazil’s federal highways, with recent totals still averaging well into the double digits per day. Separate global estimates also place Brazil among countries with a high burden of road-traffic fatalities. While these broader figures cover every type of crash and roadway user, they provide sobering context for how quickly routine travel can turn deadly, particularly on fast-moving corridors shared by passenger vehicles and freight traffic.
Research on wet-road risk helps explain how quickly control can be lost once traction breaks. When water builds on pavement faster than tires can disperse it, even briefly, vehicles can begin to ride on a thin film of water and respond unpredictably to steering and braking. Studies note that tire condition, tread depth, speed, and pavement texture all influence how much grip remains in rain. For heavy vehicles, the stakes are amplified: once a slide begins, the forces involved can carry a truck across lane boundaries before a driver can correct, particularly if the roadway is crowned, rutted, or has uneven drainage.
Safety specialists generally recommend a layered approach for commercial drivers during rain: slow down earlier than usual, increase following distance, avoid abrupt steering inputs, and confirm tires and braking systems are in good condition before long hauls. For tow operations, securement checks and speed discipline matter even more, because the load can change how the truck behaves during sudden maneuvers. On the infrastructure side, road-surface maintenance, visible lane markings, and drainage improvements can reduce the likelihood that water accumulates in ways that trigger skids.
For communities along BR-364, the video’s clarity is part of what makes this incident so striking. It shows, in real time, how a momentary loss of traction can cascade into a fatal outcome for another road user who may have little opportunity to react. As investigators work to reconstruct speeds, vehicle positions, and the precise dynamics of the slide, the central takeaway is already familiar to anyone who drives freight routes in heavy rain: on slick pavement, small mistakes can have outsized consequences.
Authorities have not released a timeline for concluding the investigation. Until then, the crash stands as a stark reminder of the everyday vulnerabilities on major trucking corridors, and of the importance of caution, maintenance, and road design that anticipates harsh weather on routes where heavy vehicles and commuters share the same narrow margins.
News story written by DarkGore.
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