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Brazilian influencer Jesse Kozechen and his golden retriever died in a car crash a few days before finishing their dream drive from Brazil to Alaska. Kozechen was 29 years old at the time of death.
Kozechen died on Highway 199 outside Salem, Oregon, at 10:30 a.m. on Monday. He was driving a Volkswagen Beetle and tried to pass a line of cars that slowed down for disruption ahead. However, he entered the oncoming traffic and collided with another vehicle, leading to his death.
Oregon State Police confirmed that Kozechen’s dog Shurastey also died. Eileen Huss, the driver of the other vehicle, was injured and admitted to a nearby hospital. A 2-year-old was also inside the car who was not hurt, and the highway was closed for more than two hours following the incident.
Jesse’s family issued a statement on a few Instagram stories on Shurastey’s Instagram page on Wednesday, mentioning that the only profiles where the information can be found are Shurastey’s alongside @shurastey.dogs and Kozechen’s Instagram account @jessekoz.
The statement ended by stating that further details related to Kozechen and Shurastey’s funeral, along with the transportation of their bodies to Brazil, shall be revealed on Shurastey’s page.
Everything known about Jesse Kozechen
Jesse Kozechen has traveled around 52,000 miles and 17 countries in his car with his pet since the beginning of his trip in 2017. The journey was scheduled to end in Alaska but was slowed down because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Cross-border restrictions also prevented them from driving at the US-Mexico border.
Despite being forced to return to Brazil, Jesse continued his journey in January 2022 and crossed into the US the following month. While speaking to a news outlet, he said,
“We left Mexico in September 2020 with the idea of staying only four months in Brazil with the hope that the Mexico-US border would open again. But the months went by, and no news that this would happen, month after month (of) expectation was decreasing and the dream of completing the drive with the Beetle was (slipping away).”
Kozechen used to share pictures from his expedition on his Instagram. An Instagram page was created to document their road trip called Shurastey or Shuraigow? It is a play on the name of his dog and the song Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash.
In April 2022, he posted a picture of himself and Shurastey at the Lincoln Memorial. He last posted four days before his death, which has now received around 277,000 likes. He was standing in front of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge with his dog in his last post.
Further details related to Jesse’s early life, career, educational background, and personal life are yet to be revealed.
