'Loved making memories': 2022 Taunton High grad succumbs to injuries from Raynham crash
TAUNTON — Twenty-year old Mateus Soares Lopes–Da Costa of Taunton loved making people happy and making memories with those he cared about.
“He was always smiling, always happy, and tried to make others happy,” said Tairissa Goncalves, cousin of Mateus, who added he was “friends with everyone” and “loved making people laugh.”
Lopes-Da Costa died on Sunday, Aug. 27 from injuries sustained in a car crash.
“He was hospitalized for 2 weeks in a coma, and today he passed at Rhode Island Hospital. The time is never right to lose a son and my son is only 20 years old. It's hard, very hard,” wrote his mother, Daniela Gonsalves, who set up a Go Fund Me for Mateus’ medical and funeral expenses.
Three-vehicle collision in Raynham
Mateus Soares Lopes–Da Costa was in a 3-vehicle crash on the night of Sunday, Aug. 13, around 9:30 p.m., near the post office on Route 138 in Raynham.
According to information released by the Raynham Police and Fire departments, the "serious head on collision" that night involved three vehicles: Lopes-Da Costa was driving a grey Ford Focus; a 45-year-old Easton woman was driving a green Nissan Rogue SUV; and a 58-year-old Taunton man was driving a yellow Ford F-150 pickup truck.
The Taunton Police Department provided mutual aid. The 58-year-old Taunton man was transported by Brewster Ambulance to Good Samaritan Medical Center. And the 45-year-old Easton woman declined additional medical assistance at the scene.
Officials said Lopes-Da Costa was trapped in his vehicle and had to be extracted by firefighters. He was transported to the Route 138 Walmart parking lot and then flown by medical helicopter to Rhode Island Hospital.
He died on Sunday, Aug. 27 at the hospital, "surrounded by the love, comfort, and care of his dear family," his obituary said.
Raynham Police did not immediately respond in time for the deadline for this story to a records request regarding its investigation into the crash.
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Loved to dance and sing and make memories with family
Born in Praia, Cape Verde, Lopes-Da Costa would spend his younger years living there before immigrating to the United States and settling in Taunton.
According to his obituary, he loved playing basketball, riding dirt bikes, cooking (seafood dishes, especially), and and spending time with his family.
Tairissa Goncalves said her extended family is really close, and family was everything to Mateus.
“He loved making memories with family,” especially during big family gatherings, she said.
One way he did that, she said, was through dance.
“He loved dancing with everyone. If music was on, he always would be dancing and singing,” she said, adding Mateus’ favorite kind of music was Afrobeats.
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2022 Taunton High School graduate
He attended Taunton Public Schools and graduated from Taunton High School in 2022.
Most recently Mateus was studying and training to become a licensed plumber.
Mateus is survived by his mother, Daniela Goncalves; his father, Ulyssess Da Costa; his siblings, Danilson Varela, Davilson Goncalves and Dayven Goncalves; his grandparents, Gabriela Tavares Jorge and Mateus Goncalves; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.
Visiting hours and funeral arrangements
Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 5 from 4-7 p.m. in the Silva Funeral Home, 80 Broadway (at Saint Mary’s Square), in Taunton.
Mateus’s funeral will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 8:30 a.m. at the Silva Funeral Home, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in Saint Anthony Church on School Street. Burial will follow in Saint Joseph Cemetery in Taunton.
How to help
At time of this writing, the GoFundMe for Mateus's funeral and medical expenses had raised $4,553 out of the $20,000 goal, with 109 donations.
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton High grad dies of injuries after Raynham car accident
