Three Brazilian rope-jumping instructors face homicide charges after Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, 21, was thrown from a 130-foot bridge without a safety harness and fell to her death. The men claim they 'blacked out' and don't recall who was responsible for the equipment. The incident occurred at an abandoned bridge in Limeira, whose mayor now plans to sue the federal government over jurisdiction and safety.
Limeira rope-jumping death
- ▪De Freitas fell approximately 130 feet (40 meters) to her death
- ▪Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, 21, died on a Saturday after being thrown from a bridge in Limeira, São Paulo, Brazil, during a rope-jumping activity
- ▪The incident occurred at the Ponte do Esqueleto (Skeleton Bridge), an abandoned railway bridge popular for extreme sports
Instructor homicide charges
- ▪If found guilty, the men face a prison sentence of between 6 and 30 years
- ▪In September 2022, instructor Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff posted a video titled "Hiding the body" showing a bag being thrown off the same bridge
- ▪Three instructors were arrested: Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, Vitor de Freitas Gonçalves, 27, and Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42
- ▪The instructors were charged with homicide with eventual intent, which applies to acts carrying a fatal risk without direct intent to kill
Safety equipment failure
- ▪The men told police they "blacked out" and could not remember who was supposed to attach or check the safety equipment
- ▪The company offering the rope jumps was not authorized to conduct them from the bridge, according to Brazil’s Ministry of Management
- ▪The instructors acknowledged that de Freitas was not connected to any safety ropes when she was thrown from the bridge
Rope-jumping sport context
- ▪Rope jumping uses low-stretch climbing ropes to create a pendulum swing, differing from bungee jumping's elastic cords and vertical bounce
- ▪Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas was an aspiring physical education teacher
Bridge jurisdiction dispute
- ▪The Limeira city council has attempted for over a year to get federal bodies to take action regarding safety at the bridge
- ▪The city of Limeira plans to sue the Brazilian federal government, which Mayor Murilo Félix says is "exclusively" responsible for the bridge
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