At 18 years old, Ana Beatriz Oliveira, from Campinas (SP), saw her life turn upside down: on November 5, 2019, the young woman had her arm cut off in the window of the bus she took daily on her way to work. Now, four years after the accident, the saleswoman chose to share her own story on TikTok, a social network where she already has almost 4 million views.
With a case against the company responsible for the collective still ongoing and waiting for a prosthesis that could cost more than R$100,000, Ana Beatriz recalled to g1 the journey towards rehabilitation, highlighting the importance of the support she received from family and friends and ensured that, four years after the trauma, he became a more mature and happy person.
“I had a very closed mind, I cared more about myself and I was a slightly more selfish person. It opened my mind a lot. Nowadays I can deal with things better, I learned a lot, including how to value life more”, says the young woman.
/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_59edd422c0c84a879bd37670ae4f538a/internal_photos/bs/2023/G/F/cm5jhPR0Owg6UTeySdSg/ana-beatriz.png "Passenger who had her arm cut off in a bus window goes viral showing her routine 4 years after accident: 'Giving value to life' 8")
On the left, Ana Beatriz, now 23 years old; on the right, bus window where the accident happened — Photo: Ana Beatriz Oliveira/Personal archive
The accident
The case occurred at the intersection between Avenida das Amoreiras and Rua Paulo Lacerda, around 7am. The young woman reports that she had her right elbow resting on the window glass – and not with her arm out, as reported at the time by the Campinas Municipal Development Company (Emdec) – when the rear part of the bus collided with a post, instantly ripping off Ana Beatriz’s arm.
“[O impacto] broke all the glass. I remember seeing my arm falling and having those five seconds of adrenaline. I didn’t feel anything, it just exploded and I saw it falling. I was desperate, thinking I was going to die, because I was seeing everything going dark, as if I were going to faint, because I was losing a lot of blood. But I didn’t faint at any point,” she recalls.
Ana Beatriz remembers receiving first aid from other passengers until the Mobile Emergency Care Service (Samu) arrived. After being rescued by the ambulance, she was taken to Dr. Mário Gatti Municipal Hospital, where doctors tried to reimplant the limb, but were unable to do so.
“I just wanted to see my mother. I was worried about her because I already have a physically disabled brother, and at the time my mother was already taking care of him. I thought ‘Wow, if I’m missing an arm, I’m going to give my mother a second job’, because I helped her carry my brother, take him to physiotherapy, do things”, she reports.
/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_59edd422c0c84a879bd37670ae4f538a/internal_photos/bs/2023/d/J/qORuhAS26uRzVpPHlufA/whatsapp-image-2023-10-26-at-15.33.46.jpeg "Passenger who had her arm cut off in a bus window goes viral showing her routine 4 years after accident: 'Giving value to life' 9")
Ana Beatriz, shortly after being discharged, still wearing bandages — Photo: Ana Beatriz Oliveira/Personal archive
Criticism and recovery
In total, there were around 17 days in hospital and two surgeries. During the period she was in the hospital, it took Ana Beatriz a few days to access her cell phone and social media, as the family wanted to keep the young woman away from the criticism she received from people who blamed her for allegedly having her arm out of the collective.
“Then I revealed it and that was the least of it, but as it went viral and had a lot of comments, my mother and the people didn’t want me to read the messages. There are people who wish you well, and there are people who wish you harm and keep blaming you, but no one knows, only those who have been there”, he says.
After being discharged, the young woman had to be taken off work and began physiotherapy, which was interrupted by the arrival of the pandemic in 2020. Today, Ana Beatriz returned to the job market and works as a salesperson, but remains in line waiting for a prosthesis through from the National Social Security Institute (INSS).
“Whether you like it or not, a prosthesis is very expensive. I went to look and what I need is R$100,000 and up, that’s the simplest. Bionics, which have movement, are much more expensive, over R$180,000,” she says.
Furthermore, she decided to sue VB Transportes, responsible for the bus she was on. At the time of the case, the Union of Passenger Transport Companies of the Metropolitan Region of Campinas (SetCamp) also opened an internal investigation to determine who was responsible for the accident.
g1 asked VB Transportes and SetCamp for a position on the case, but did not receive a response until the publication of this report. Emdec highlighted, in a note, that the information provided at the time was preliminary, prior to the investigation stage, “since the company’s activities are focused on the operationalization of traffic”.
Emdec also highlighted that the Civil Police is responsible for investigating the causes and responsibilities. He also pointed out that public transport drivers receive periodic training on safe and preventive driving, coordinated by the operating companies, with content subsidized by the company.
Furthermore, it argues that it has a driver training program to reduce the number of deaths and bus accidents.
“Through the training and road safety campaigns carried out, Emdec seeks to make drivers aware of the responsibility for leading lives and the importance of driving cautiously and respecting traffic laws”, he added, in a note.
/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_59edd422c0c84a879bd37670ae4f538a/internal_photos/bs/2023/3/A/V8cNaHQMWBHximBJ4tuQ/whatsapp-image-2023-10-26-at-15.36.59.jpeg "Passenger who had her arm cut off in a bus window goes viral showing her routine 4 years after accident: 'Giving value to life' 10")
Ana Beatriz alongside her brother, who is a person with a disability — Photo: Ana Beatriz Oliveira/Personal archive
Future and expectations
Currently, Ana Beatriz says she has adapted very well to her role in a department store, and celebrates the fact that she can still help her mother take care of her brother on a daily basis. For the future, her dream is to enroll in a human resources course.
Another goal of the young woman is to intensify her posts on social media, showing the adaptations she makes to her routine – an old dream that was rekindled after the repercussion of recent posts in which she shares the story of the accident. The success, in fact, was a pleasant surprise.
“At the time I posted – it was 2:30 in the morning – a lot of notifications were already arriving and I had received 2 thousand [visualizações]. When it was morning, it was already at 200 thousand. Even now I haven’t stopped blowing the whistle here!”, he jokes.
At 18 years old, Ana Beatriz Oliveira, from Campinas (SP), saw her life turn upside down: on November 5, 2019, the young woman had her arm cut off in the window of the bus she took daily on her way to work. Now, four years after the accident, the saleswoman chose to share her own story on TikTok, a social network where she already has almost 4 million views.
With a case against the company responsible for the collective still ongoing and waiting for a prosthesis that could cost more than R$100,000, Ana Beatriz recalled to g1 the journey towards rehabilitation, highlighting the importance of the support she received from family and friends and ensured that, four years after the trauma, he became a more mature and happy person.
“I had a very closed mind, I cared more about myself and I was a slightly more selfish person. It opened my mind a lot. Nowadays I can deal with things better, I learned a lot, including how to value life more”, says the young woman.
On the left, Ana Beatriz, now 23 years old; on the right, bus window where the accident happened — Photo: Ana Beatriz Oliveira/Personal archive
The accident
The case occurred at the intersection between Avenida das Amoreiras and Rua Paulo Lacerda, around 7am. The young woman reports that she had her right elbow resting on the window glass – and not with her arm out, as reported at the time by the Campinas Municipal Development Company (Emdec) – when the rear part of the bus collided with a post, instantly ripping off Ana Beatriz’s arm.
“[O impacto] broke all the glass. I remember seeing my arm falling and having those five seconds of adrenaline. I didn’t feel anything, it just exploded and I saw it falling. I was desperate, thinking I was going to die, because I was seeing everything going dark, as if I were going to faint, because I was losing a lot of blood. But I didn’t faint at any point,” she recalls.
Ana Beatriz remembers receiving first aid from other passengers until the Mobile Emergency Care Service (Samu) arrived. After being rescued by the ambulance, she was taken to Dr. Mário Gatti Municipal Hospital, where doctors tried to reimplant the limb, but were unable to do so.
“I just wanted to see my mother. I was worried about her because I already have a physically disabled brother, and at the time my mother was already taking care of him. I thought ‘Wow, if I’m missing an arm, I’m going to give my mother a second job’, because I helped her carry my brother, take him to physiotherapy, do things”, she reports.
Ana Beatriz, shortly after being discharged, still wearing bandages — Photo: Ana Beatriz Oliveira/Personal archive
Criticism and recovery
In total, there were around 17 days in hospital and two surgeries. During the period she was in the hospital, it took Ana Beatriz a few days to access her cell phone and social media, as the family wanted to keep the young woman away from the criticism she received from people who blamed her for allegedly having her arm out of the collective.
“Then I revealed it and that was the least of it, but as it went viral and had a lot of comments, my mother and the people didn’t want me to read the messages. There are people who wish you well, and there are people who wish you harm and keep blaming you, but no one knows, only those who have been there”, he says.
After being discharged, the young woman had to be taken off work and began physiotherapy, which was interrupted by the arrival of the pandemic in 2020. Today, Ana Beatriz returned to the job market and works as a salesperson, but remains in line waiting for a prosthesis through from the National Social Security Institute (INSS).
“Whether you like it or not, a prosthesis is very expensive. I went to look and what I need is R$100,000 and up, that’s the simplest. Bionics, which have movement, are much more expensive, over R$180,000,” she says.
Furthermore, she decided to sue VB Transportes, responsible for the bus she was on. At the time of the case, the Union of Passenger Transport Companies of the Metropolitan Region of Campinas (SetCamp) also opened an internal investigation to determine who was responsible for the accident.
g1 asked VB Transportes and SetCamp for a position on the case, but did not receive a response until the publication of this report. Emdec highlighted, in a note, that the information provided at the time was preliminary, prior to the investigation stage, “since the company’s activities are focused on the operationalization of traffic”.
Emdec also highlighted that the Civil Police is responsible for investigating the causes and responsibilities. He also pointed out that public transport drivers receive periodic training on safe and preventive driving, coordinated by the operating companies, with content subsidized by the company.
Furthermore, it argues that it has a driver training program to reduce the number of deaths and bus accidents.
“Through the training and road safety campaigns carried out, Emdec seeks to make drivers aware of the responsibility for leading lives and the importance of driving cautiously and respecting traffic laws”, he added, in a note.
Ana Beatriz alongside her brother, who is a person with a disability — Photo: Ana Beatriz Oliveira/Personal archive
Future and expectations
Currently, Ana Beatriz says she has adapted very well to her role in a department store, and celebrates the fact that she can still help her mother take care of her brother on a daily basis. For the future, her dream is to enroll in a human resources course.
Another goal of the young woman is to intensify her posts on social media, showing the adaptations she makes to her routine – an old dream that was rekindled after the repercussion of recent posts in which she shares the story of the accident. The success, in fact, was a pleasant surprise.
“At the time I posted – it was 2:30 in the morning – a lot of notifications were already arriving and I had received 2 thousand [visualizações]. When it was morning, it was already at 200 thousand. Even now I haven’t stopped blowing the whistle here!”, he jokes.
