Home / Disasters and Accidents / Runaway Bus Chaos: Commuters Narrowly Escape Disaster on Brazilian Highway
Runaway Bus Chaos: Commuters Narrowly Escape Disaster on Brazilian Highway
18 Nov
Summary
- Packed bus suffers brake failure, smashes into 15 vehicles
- Passengers scream in terror as bus careens out of control
- Miraculously, no fatalities but 12 people injured, 2 seriously

On October 20th, 2025, commuters in Sao Paulo, Brazil experienced a terrifying ordeal when a packed bus suffered a catastrophic brake failure, leading to a chaotic series of collisions on a busy highway. The bus, which was carrying a full load of passengers, veered out of control and smashed into 15 other vehicles, including motorcycles and cars, in a nightmare that lasted nearly a minute.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing the passengers on board screaming in fear as the runaway bus hit everything in its path. Miraculously, despite the severity of the crashes, no one was killed, though 12 people were injured, with 2 sustaining serious injuries. The motorway operator later confirmed that the bus had suffered a brake failure, leading to the harrowing incident.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, which has been likened by some to the plot of the Hollywood film "Speed," where an extortionist rigs a bus to explode if it goes below a certain speed. In this case, the bus was traveling at just under 30 mph when the first collision occurred, setting off a chain reaction of crashes that left a trail of damaged vehicles in its wake.


