Too many people recording. So I left to avoid the chaos.
In the early hours of a Wednesday morning in São Paulo, a collision on one of the city's most prominent avenues set in motion a sequence of choices that reveal how fame and accountability can pull in opposite directions. Samuel Sant'Anna, known online as Gato Preto, drove his luxury Porsche into another car carrying a father and his son, then left the scene — later telling police he feared the crowd's cameras more than the law's gaze. The case now sits with investigators, pending toxicology results, as a quiet reminder that visibility and responsibility are not the same thing.
- A 1.5-million-real Porsche struck a family's car at high speed near a red light at 6:30 a.m., sending one passenger to the hospital and leaving a father and son shaken at the intersection.
- Rather than staying to face consequences, both the influencer and his passenger were whisked away by associates who also removed belongings from the wrecked vehicle — a coordinated departure that police would later treat as aggravating evidence.
- While the injured were still being attended to, Gato Preto posted social media jokes about the crash before deleting them, a digital trail that undercut any claim of remorse or innocence.
- Police arrested him hours later at his apartment, where he offered the cameras-and-chaos explanation on body cam — then stayed silent before the delegado, refusing a breathalyzer while submitting a urine sample.
- The case now carries multiple charges including hit-and-run, reckless endangerment, and suspected drunk driving, with toxicology results still pending and a specialized traffic unit taking over the prosecution.
Samuel Sant'Anna — the 32-year-old influencer known as Gato Preto — crashed his Porsche into a Hyundai HB20 on Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima in São Paulo's Itaim Bibi district around 6:30 a.m. on a Wednesday. The HB20's driver had just crossed on a green light with his son in the car when the Porsche hit him at high speed, also striking a utility pole. One passenger required hospitalization.
Rather than remain at the scene, Gato Preto and his passenger — fellow influencer Bia Miranda, 21 — fled in a vehicle driven by associates who also removed items from the wrecked Porsche. The HB20 driver told police that Gato Preto had appeared visibly intoxicated, was aggressive, and made threats. Hours before the crash, both influencers had posted photos from a party featuring alcoholic drinks.
When police located Gato Preto at his Tremembé apartment around 10 a.m., he explained on body camera that he had left because bystanders were recording on their phones, adding that a security guard had stayed to help the victims. The officer reminded him plainly that leaving an accident scene is a crime. Gato Preto had also posted — and later deleted — social media stories joking about the destroyed Porsche.
He refused a breathalyzer but provided a urine sample. At the 14th Police District in Pinheiros, officers logged charges including reckless injury, hit-and-run, suspected drunk driving, and additional traffic code violations. He was released after the report was filed. The case has since been transferred to the 15th District in Itaim Bibi, where Delegado Fabio Luiz Romanini is awaiting toxicology results before moving forward with prosecution.
Samuel Sant'Anna, the 32-year-old influencer known as Gato Preto, crashed his Porsche into another car on Wednesday morning in São Paulo's west side, then left the scene. Hours later, when police found him at his apartment in the Tremembé neighborhood, he explained himself to the officers: there were too many people recording on their phones, he said, and he wanted to avoid the chaos. A security guard had stayed behind to help, he insisted. The officer, his body camera running, told him that leaving the accident site was a crime.
The collision happened around 6:30 a.m. on Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima in the Itaim Bibi district. Gato Preto's Porsche, valued at 1.5 million reais, struck a Hyundai HB20 that was crossing the intersection and also hit a utility pole. The HB20 driver was stopped at a red light with his son inside. When the light changed and he began to cross, the Porsche hit him at what he described to police as high speed. One passenger in the HB20 was injured badly enough to require hospitalization.
According to the police report, the HB20 driver told officers that Gato Preto appeared visibly intoxicated, was aggressive, and made threats against him. The influencer and his passenger—21-year-old Bia Miranda, herself an influencer under investigation for promoting online gambling—both fled the scene. People connected to Miranda arrived in a Hyundai Creta, removed items from the Porsche, and took both of them away. One of those people, Felipe Junior Da Silva Souza, identified as Miranda's security guard, later told police that Miranda had asked him to return to the accident site on foot to help the injured driver.
Hours before the crash, Gato Preto and Miranda had posted photos from a party showing alcoholic drinks. Shortly after the accident, while still at large, Gato Preto posted stories on social media joking about the damage: "I crashed my Porsche, lost 1.5 million reais. It's all good." He deleted the posts later. Police arrested him around 10 a.m. at his apartment. He refused to take a breathalyzer test but provided a urine sample that will determine whether he was driving under the influence.
At the 14th Police District in Pinheiros, officers documented multiple violations: reckless injury while driving a motor vehicle, fleeing an accident scene, suspected drunk driving, and other offenses under Brazil's traffic code. Gato Preto remained silent in front of the delegado. He was released after the report was filed, though the case has been transferred to the 15th District in Itaim Bibi, the neighborhood where the crash occurred. The Porsche is registered in other people's names. Delegado Fabio Luiz Romanini is waiting for the urine test results to confirm whether alcohol was involved, and the investigation continues.
Notable Quotes
I left because there were many people recording. To avoid the chaos, I had a security guard stay to help.— Gato Preto, to police
I crashed my Porsche, lost 1.5 million reais. It's all good.— Gato Preto, in since-deleted social media post
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did he think leaving the scene was justified?
He told police he left because there were too many people recording on their phones. He said he wanted to avoid the chaos—the word he used was "bafafá." But he claimed a security guard stayed to help.
Did the security guard actually help?
According to the guard's own statement, he was called to the scene by Miranda's people. He says Miranda asked him to go back and assist the injured driver. Whether that happened before or after the Porsche was already gone is unclear from the report.
What about the person who was hit?
The HB20 driver said Gato Preto was visibly drunk, aggressive, and made threats. His son was in the car. One passenger was hurt badly enough to need a hospital. The driver described the Porsche coming at him at high speed.
Did Gato Preto admit to drinking?
He refused the breathalyzer test entirely. But hours before the crash, he and Miranda had posted photos from a party with alcohol visible. And the HB20 driver's account of his behavior—the aggression, the threats—lines up with what intoxication looks like.
What's the legal exposure here?
Multiple charges: hit-and-run, reckless injury, suspected drunk driving. The urine sample will be crucial. If it shows alcohol, that's another serious count. He's already documented leaving the scene, which is its own crime.
What struck you most about this?
That he posted about it afterward. "Lost 1.5 million reais. It's all good." Like it was a joke. Then deleted it. That gap between the moment—the aggression, the threats, the injured person—and his casual social media response says something about how he saw the whole thing.