'My heart is breaking': Family pay tribute to cyclist killed in O'Connell Street crash with cement truck
The family a young cyclist who was killed following a collision with a truck in Dublin city centre earlier this week have been left "distraught" following his tragic death.Johnny Santos Xavier De Abreu, a 27-year-old Brazilian student, was pronounced dead at the scene following the crash between an electric bike and a cement truck.The tragic incident occurred at the junction of Middle Abbey Street and O'Connell Street on the north side of the city shortly before 1pm on Wednesday afternoon.Johnny was originally from São Vicente, on the coast of São Paulo, and had only arrived in Dublin in recent weeks.The 27-year-old's family in Brazil have been left heartbroken by his tragic death, with his sister, Isabela Xavier, posting an emotional tribute to him on social media, as she revealed he had come to Ireland to "chase his dream"."Thank you for everything. For being who you were, and for being the best uncle my daughter could have asked for," she wrote."My heart is breaking. I'll love you from here to eternity. I'm speechless."Isabela added: "He was over (in Ireland) chasing his dream. I can't even find the words to speak. He's gone. It was a tragic accident, a complete tragedy what happened to him."He went there to study and to work as well. He was actually on his way to school when it happened."He was on an electric bike and hit a cement mixer. Johnny doesn't have any family over there, just one friend, Vinicius, who's a childhood friend."My mum always told me that a child is prepared to bury a mother, but a mother is never prepared to bury her child."I'm at my mum's now and she is literally distraught. Just imagine your son dying, guys. Twelve hours away – a twelve-hour flight – in another country, so far from her."Members of the Brazilian community have also shared tributes on social media with tributes for the young man, while a fundraiser has also been set up to repatriate his body back home.Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to Wednesday's collision to contact the investigating officers at Store St station in the north inner city.A garda spokesperson said: "Road users and pedestrians with camera footage (including dash-cam) who were in the area of Middle Abbey Street and O'Connell Street, Dublin 1 between 12.30pm and 1.30pm today are asked to make this footage available to investigating Gardaí."Anyone with information is asked to contact Store Street Garda Station on (01) 6668000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station."Investigations are ongoing."Want to see more of the stories you love from Dublin Live? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Dublin Live as a preferred source, simply click here.Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content.We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice .
