It wasn’t bad weather or faulty equipment. It was a shockingly simple error that took the life of a woman in Brazil’s São Paulo state on June 13, 2026.
21-year-old Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas had big dreams of becoming a physical education teacher.
She traveled to the “Skeleton Bridge” at Ponte do Esqueleto that Saturday, eagerly looking forward to rope jumping from the bridge, which used to be part of a railway line that has been defunct for several years.
Although the bridge had been abandoned for years, tourists in the municipality of Limeira often visit the spot to practice extreme sports.
On the morning of her planned jump, Maria wrote a message on social media that will forever haunt her jumping instructors for the rest of their lives.
“Who was the crazy person who let me jump off a bridge?” she wrote.
A viral video on social media reportedly captured the final moments before the tragedy, where three employees had hoisted her above their shoulders and carried her toward the jumping structure, with her arms stretched out in a “Superman” pose.
Unfortunately, none of the instructors remembered to attach her to the safety ropes.
Moments later, they pushed her from the platform without realizing the fatal mistake.
“The rope!” one person was heard shouting.
Another panic-stricken voice said, “Guys, the rope!”
The yongster plunged over 130 feet off the bridge, with no equipment to save her.
Rayza Dias, a nurse who was present at the scene, said she hurt herself while trying to rush to Maria’s aid.
“I scraped my whole hand because there’s a steep slope down there and only one rope for us to climb down,” the nurse told Brazilian Times the day after the jumper lost her life.
“It was all covered in mud,” she continued. “I kept going down, down. We walked all the way.”
The nurse said Maria was still breathing, and she managed to get a few words out of her.
“I have a habit of joking and saying, ‘nobody d*es on my shift,’” she said, noting that she told Maria the same thing.
Three men, Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, Vitor de Freitas Goncalves, 27, and Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, were arrested on Sunday, June 14, and charged with homicide with eventual intent, which applies to cases where perpetrators did not intend to take a victim’s life but engaged in a dangerous act that carried a fatal risk.
Police said the three men tried to flee but were eventually caught and remain in detention.
The arrested men claimed they couldn’t remember who was responsible for confirming whether Maria was attached to safety equipment.
Maria’s mother shared her grief on social media, saying, “My beloved daughter, today alone I wanted to hug you more than a thousand times.”
“How much your departure hurts me,” she continued. “I love you eternally, my princess. And thank you so much for being a part of my life for these 21 years. What an honor it was to hear you call me mom. God, thank you for this privilege.”
21-year-old Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas had big dreams of becoming a physical education teacher.
She traveled to the “Skeleton Bridge” at Ponte do Esqueleto that Saturday, eagerly looking forward to rope jumping from the bridge, which used to be part of a railway line that has been defunct for several years.
Although the bridge had been abandoned for years, tourists in the municipality of Limeira often visit the spot to practice extreme sports.
On the morning of her planned jump, Maria wrote a message on social media that will forever haunt her jumping instructors for the rest of their lives.
“Who was the crazy person who let me jump off a bridge?” she wrote.
A viral video on social media reportedly captured the final moments before the tragedy, where three employees had hoisted her above their shoulders and carried her toward the jumping structure, with her arms stretched out in a “Superman” pose.
Unfortunately, none of the instructors remembered to attach her to the safety ropes.
Moments later, they pushed her from the platform without realizing the fatal mistake.
“The rope!” one person was heard shouting.
Another panic-stricken voice said, “Guys, the rope!”
The yongster plunged over 130 feet off the bridge, with no equipment to save her.
Rayza Dias, a nurse who was present at the scene, said she hurt herself while trying to rush to Maria’s aid.
“I scraped my whole hand because there’s a steep slope down there and only one rope for us to climb down,” the nurse told Brazilian Times the day after the jumper lost her life.
“It was all covered in mud,” she continued. “I kept going down, down. We walked all the way.”
The nurse said Maria was still breathing, and she managed to get a few words out of her.
“I have a habit of joking and saying, ‘nobody d*es on my shift,’” she said, noting that she told Maria the same thing.
Three men, Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, Vitor de Freitas Goncalves, 27, and Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, were arrested on Sunday, June 14, and charged with homicide with eventual intent, which applies to cases where perpetrators did not intend to take a victim’s life but engaged in a dangerous act that carried a fatal risk.
Police said the three men tried to flee but were eventually caught and remain in detention.
The arrested men claimed they couldn’t remember who was responsible for confirming whether Maria was attached to safety equipment.
Maria’s mother shared her grief on social media, saying, “My beloved daughter, today alone I wanted to hug you more than a thousand times.”
“How much your departure hurts me,” she continued. “I love you eternally, my princess. And thank you so much for being a part of my life for these 21 years. What an honor it was to hear you call me mom. God, thank you for this privilege.”