This is the moment a man fleeing police after hacking his wife to death with a machete ends up flying off a bridge and landing with a crunch in the ravine below.

Silvio Miguel Sott, 58, fled from police in his car after allegedly stabbing his wife at their home in Ariquemes, northern Brazil, on Saturday, 10th December.

His victim, 54-year-old hairdresser Gilza Maria de Souza, died at the scene. A bloodied machete was found next to her body, which had a deep cut to the neck.

Footage filmed on the RO-257 state highway shows how, while fleeing from police at speed, Sott lost control of his car and slammed into the side of a bridge.

The impact threw his car into the air before it landed with a crunch on the banks of the Branco River below.

The impact left the car mangled and Sott – who hailed from Lajeado, southern Brazil – was killed instantly.

Local media did not report on the alleged motive for the killing but said that Gilza had once taken out a restraining order against her husband.

The two had been married for less than a year, but she had allegedly suffered episodes of domestic violence during the early months of their relationship.

When Gilza went to police to complain of domestic violence, she told officers that Sott had slapped her around the face and broken her mobile phone.

A month later, she took out a restraining order against him but annulled it after just 10 days after the couple rekindled their relationship.

Police chief Icaro Alex told local media: “He had a very aggressive personality. So much so that in his previous marriage, his wife had to flee the state.

“She also reported a case of domestic violence and the reports tell of 35 years of physical and psychological abuse.”