Brasilia, Sep 18 (IANS/EFE): A 17-year-old star rhythmic gymnast died in a car accident over the weekend in Viana, a city in Brazil's Espiritu Santo state, police said.

Eduarda Mello de Queiroz, who placed second in the national championships, died Sunday when the car she was riding in with two other people went into a ravine and hit a tree.

Luiz Felipe Costa, who was driving the car, is hospitalized in serious condition, while the third person in the vehicle, gymnast Natalia Gaudio, sustained only minor injuries, police said.

Mello de Queiroz, who was considered one of the most promising athletes in Brazil, won second place in the national team championships in late August.

She was the daughter of Monika Queiroz, who coached the Brazilian rhythmic gymnastics teams that competed at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro and the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

"This is a tough and very sad time for the family, and for all of Brazilian gymnastics," Brazilian Gymnastics Federation official Klayler Mourthe told the media.