Story By: William McGee, Sub-Editor:  Lee Bullen, Agency: Newsflash

A couple has been shot by suspected drug dealers after their sat-nav took them through a dodgy Brazilian neighbourhood to avoid traffic.

Fernando Estrella and Renata Araujo were on their way to the Lakes Region in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro for a holiday on 20th November.

They were travelling with a girl, whose relation to the couple is unclear, and a male friend on the motorway in their white Honda Civic when they hit a traffic jam.

According to the couple’s friend, the girl needed to go to the toilet so the car sat-nav calculated a quicker route which they then followed.

The route passed through the neighbourhood of Jardim Catarina in the municipality of Sao Goncalo.

While driving through the rough neighbourhood, the couple’s car was reportedly shot at by suspected drug dealers in broad daylight.

At least two shots hit the vehicle, one through the driver’s side window and the other through the windshield.

The girl and the couple’s friend travelling in the back of the car were uninjured. However, Estrella, who was driving, was struck in the back and Araujo was hit in the arm.

Estrella, though injured, managed to flee the scene and request help at a nearby police station.

The couple was taken to hospital in the nearby municipality of Niteroi where they remain in a stable condition.

The Federal Highway Police are unsure if the suspects were trying to steal their vehicle, or if they simply shot at them for entering their neighbourhood.

No arrests have been made yet as the investigation continues.

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