Cristopher de Carvalho Guedes’s family had to raise the equivalent of £18,000 to bring his body home, reports Louis Altmann

The family of a man who died following a road traffic collision with a police car in Southbury have returned his body home to Brazil and buried him after a successful crowdfunding campaign.

Cristopher de Carvalho Guedes, aged 26, had emigrated to London with his wife around a month before he was struck by a police car while riding a moped in Southbury Road on 12th October. He died from the resulting injuries.

Originally from the town of Gama near the Brazilian capital Brasilia, Cristopher had found a job in London as a delivery rider. He was with his cousin Wanderson Alves at the time of the incident, but Alves was uninjured.

Cristopher’s local church, Restituicao Gama, announced his burial on Sunday (5th), via Facebook.

According to Brazilian news website G1, Cristopher’s family initially found it difficult to get in contact with the Brazilian ministry of foreign affairs for support in bringing his remains back to Brazil. Cristopher’s sister, Thaisa de Carvalho Guedes, said the process would cost 110,000 Brazilian reais (around £18,000).

But with the help of a crowdfunding website and a charity event by Restituicao Gama, Cristopher has now been returned to his family.

Thaisa told G1 (translated from Portugese): “He had a life here, he had a job, he had a story here. He gave up his story here to have a better story there [in London]. He said to me ‘look, this is a first world country’.”

Cristopher was a keen football player, representing local club Paranoa as a junior. He also enjoyed delivering sermons at Restituicao Gama. The church held their community fundraising event on a nearby football pitch.

Two weeks ago the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) informed the police officer involved in the collision with Cristopher that they are under criminal investigation for two potential offences; causing death by dangerous driving, or causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving. The officer is also being investigated for gross misconduct.

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