Hit-and-Run Driver Killed Two Women During Protests In Brazil - Death Toll Reaches Four

Two women died on Monday during the protests that drew more than one million people into the streets of Brazil in about 80 cities across the country, leaving a total of four dead in the past two weeks, according to EFE Agency.

Officials said that the two women, who are yet to be identified, had joined the demonstrations taking place on a highway in Luiziana, in the state of Goiás, near Brasilia, when a car hit them. The driver was trying to escape the lock mad with tires mounted on the road by protesters.

According to the Federal Highway Police's official bulletin, the victims died immediately while the hit-and-run driver ignored his victims and left the scene. The car was later found abandoned a few miles away, and some of the protesters decided to burn it.

These are not the only deaths that have occurred during the protests. Last week, an 18-year-old protester was killed on June 20 when he was hit by a car driven by a man attempting to disperse the 20,000-strong-crowd, in Ribeirao Preto, a city in Sao Paulo state, said AP. That was the first fatality in the wave of protests that started two weeks ago over a hike in public transit fares.

The second fatality took place when a woman died of a heart attack after the explosion of a tear gas bomb, used to disperse violent crowds, fired by the police at a protest in Belem, in northern Brazil.

The 54-year-old woman was a cleaner who suffered from hypertension. Her heart failure was triggered by a bomb aimed at the demonstrators that exploded next to her. The woman got scared, ran and that caused her to have a heart attack, according to an official.

The government said it was concerned that the protests could affect Pope Francis' visit to Brazil next month. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff addressed the widespread violence, asking for calm.

"The demonstrators have the right and the freedom to question and criticize everything; to propose and demand changes; to fight for better quality of life; to passionately defend their ideas and proposals. But they need to do so in a peaceful and orderly fashion", she said.

Protesters are calling for measures to deal with corruption, more investment in health care and public education, as well as criticizing the millions being spent on the 2014 World Cup.