What caused Diogo Jota car crash, why he was driving and everything police said

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On what would have been Diogo Jota's 29th birthday, Mirror Football takes a look back at the events leading up to the fatal car crash that killed the late Liverpool star and his brotherAlmost six months have passed since late Liverpool talisman Diogo Jota was killed in a tragic car wreck. The former Portugal international died alongside his brother, Andre Silva, in the early hours of July 3, though the pair only made the trip because Jota was unable to fly, having undergone a lung operation.Jota, who would have been celebrating his 29th birthday on Thursday, had married his wife Rute Cardoso just 11 days before the tragedy unfolded.

Jota had been advised not to fly following lung surgery and was driving to Santander, where he and his brother planned to travel to England via an overnight ferry via Benavente before eventually landing in Portsmouth.It's understood that one of the car's tyres suffered a blowout while overtaking another vehicle on the A-52 around 70 miles west of Valladolid. However, it was soon confirmed that both occupants had died shortly after they arrived on the scene.READ MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo's touching gesture to tragic Diogo Jota's family after missing funeralREAD MORE: Diogo Jota's widow in heartbreaking tribute to Liverpool star on daughter's birthday"The investigation into the crash is being carried out by Civil Guard traffic officers," read a statement from the Civil Guard in Zamora.

In a heartbreaking twist, it emerged Jota's wife, Rute, had to identify the two men herself as police were unable to do so.Speaking about their travel plans being altered following Jota's surgery, CNN Portugal's Rui Laura said: "The surgery he had had was lung surgery, and he had been advised against flying following this."He was on his way to the northern Spanish port city of Santander to cross the ferry and reach the UK that way and carry on with the car once he reached Britain. He was on his way to Liverpool with his brother."Jota had stayed in Portugal following his role in the team's penalty shootout victory over Spain in the final of the Nations League on June 8.