Cardiff

Cardiff car crash: Three of missing five found dead

Published

1 year ago

March 7, 2023

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Shane Loughlin, Eve Smith, Sophie Russon, Rafel Jeanne, Darcy Ross — Image caption,

Shane Loughlin, Eve Smith, Sophie Russon, Rafel Jeanne and Darcy Ross (clockwise from top left) had been reported missing

By Alun Thomas & Hywel Griffith in St Mellons & Nick Bourne

BBC News

Police searching for five people have found three dead and two injured two days after they went missing following a night out.

Gwent Police said it believed the group had been involved in a car crash.

Sophie Russon, 20, Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Shane Loughlin, 32, were last seen at about 02:00 GMT on Saturday in Cardiff.

The family of Ms Smith have named her on social media as being one of those who has died.

Family and friends made repeated appeals to find the missing group over the course of the weekend, with the mother of one of the girls saying she had been told to stop contacting police for updates.

Media caption,

The road is a major route into Cardiff

The car the group were last seen in was found by a member of the public early on Monday on the A48 in St Mellons.

The road is a major route into Cardiff and the car was found near a busy roundabout close to a garden centre.

Image caption,

The family of Eve Smith have confirmed her death on social media

Ms Russon is one of the two in hospital and is in a critical condition, her cousin said, while the other two who have died are yet to be identified by police or family members.

A long police cordon marked out the crash scene at what would normally be a busy stretch of dual carriageway, connecting Cardiff and Newport.

Just below the slipway, down a small bank is a wooded area where the car was discovered. Officers have been working there, hidden from view by the trees, recovering the bodies and investigating the scene.

One resident said the area was hard to reach on foot and was in an area where “no one walks”.

The car was removed on a truck just before 13:00, with the vehicle covered over by police and the road reopened an hour later.

Police will be trying to establish exactly when the car crashed there following the last sighting of the group, and why it took until the early hours of Monday for it to be discovered.

Near the scene, people have laid flowers.

Image source, PA Media

Image caption,

People have been laying floral tributes near the scene in St Mellons

A woman who lives nearby said many people felt shocked after waking up to hear about the tragedy.

Jo Warner, who lives near the crash site, said walking past the scene made it feel horribly real.

She added: “What they’ve been through, you can’t bear thinking about it can you? I wouldn’t like to surmise what happened but it’s just heart-breaking.

“It could have been anyone’s kids. It could have been mine.”

Image source, Social media

Image caption,

Elishia Rebecca Ross shared a photo on social media asking if anyone had seen her sister, Darcy Ross, pictured here with Rafel Jeanne

Over the weekend, family and friends of the missing group appealed numerous times on social media to find them.

The women, from Newport, had gone to The Muffler club in the Maesglas area of the city late on Friday.

They then travelled 36 miles (58km) to Trecco Bay, a caravan park in the seaside resort of Porthcawl, Bridgend county, with the two men, both from Cardiff.

A Snapchat photo shared by Ms Ross’ sister showed her and Mr Jeanne together on the night they went missing.

The group was last seen in Llanedeyrn, Cardiff, in the early hours of Saturday, but it is not yet clear when the crash happened.

Ms Russon’s mother, Anna Certowicz, 42, was driving around in a desperate search for her daughter after police officers told her to “stop ringing” the station for updates.

She told the Daily Mail: “They didn’t seem to care. I had to drive to Cardiff to knock on doors myself because they were doing sod all. They just didn’t seem to think it was worth investigating. It was so frustrating.”

Writing on Twitter, Hollie Smith said her cousin, Ms Russon, had been taken to hospital in a critical condition.

“Sadly, the three other passengers have died and we’re thinking of the families who have lost their loved ones,” she wrote.

The Volkswagen Tiguan they were travelling in was found in the early hours of Monday near a busy roundabout on the A48, close to Cardiff Garden Centre.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,

An investigation is under way at the scene

A temporary fence was put up at the side of the carriageway where officers concentrated their investigation.

Before the car was found, one of the girls’ aunts said there had been “no contact and no social media presence since the early hours of Saturday morning”.

In an appeal to find them, Tori Preece shared a message on Facebook saying that “all of the families involved are extremely concerned”.

“They are not girls who take unnecessary risks and are always in close contact with their families,” she wrote.

Ms Preece shared a post from Lauren Doyle who said it was “unusual” the girls had not made contact and friends and families were “worried sick and thinking the worst”.

Specialist officers are supporting the families, police said.

The case has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in line with normal procedure.

The IOPC said: “We will carry out an assessment in due course to determine what further action may be required from us.”

Image source, Google

Image caption,

The women had gone to The Muffler club in the Maesglas area of Newport late on Friday

Gwent Police has confirmed South Wales Police was investigating the crash.

South Wales Police said it received a call at 00:15 “to a report of a car being located” off the A48 in St Mellons.

“Our thoughts are with the those affected by this incident,” it said.

St Mellons resident Howard Dainton, 72, said the scene of the crash was in a wooded area.

“No one walks down there because it’s hard to get in that area on foot,” he said.

“It’s just a copse of trees and a ditch and behind that farmer fields.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,

A recovery vehicle removed the car from the scene

Meanwhile, a man has been arrested at the scene for prevention of breach of the peace, police said.

PA news agency reported that it was understood that Thomas Taylor, 47, from Rumney, Cardiff, had been arrested after being asked to leave the area.

Speaking before he was arrested, Mr Taylor, a film and TV extra, told PA: “When I heard the reports, I just couldn’t believe it could be possible that a car could come off and no-one know they were there.

“I still don’t understand it.

“It’s natural they might have disappeared for a bit, but the families’ instincts are right.”

Cardiff car crash: Hundreds attend St Mellons vigil

Published

1 year ago

March 7, 2023

Staff Writer

Media caption,

Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21 and Rafel Jeanne, 24, died after the crash

Hundreds of people have attended a vigil for five people involved in a crash at the weekend.

Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21 and Rafel Jeanne, 24, died in the collision in Cardiff and Shane Loughlin, 32, and Sophie Russon, 20, remain in hospital in a critical condition.

All five had been on a night out in Newport when the car is believed to have veered off the A48 into trees.

Friends and family gathered at the scene in St Mellons on Tuesday.

Part of the A48 was closed to allow the crowds to congregate.

Luke Thole, a close friend of Mr Jeanne, was one of the organisers of the vigil.

He said he was “lost for words” over the loss of a his friend who was “like a brother”.

Image caption,

Candles were lit at the scene

He added: “I’m glad of the turnout, a lot of people here which obviously Rafel would love.

“It’s very big for Cardiff and Newport to be honest with you, they’re well known people. And like I said, Rafel loves all this type of stuff so he’d be happy up there seeing all what’s gone on for him.”

Image caption,

Organiser Luke Thole says Rafel Jeanne was “like a brother” to him

He said that he wished friends and family had known the location of the car much sooner. The crash is believed to have taken place in the early hours of Saturday, with the car found just after midnight on Monday morning.

“[We] could’ve potentially saved him maybe, because they were there for 48 hours. To be honest, I am lost for words and it’s hit a lot of people,” he said.

The five were last seen on Friday night, but Gwent Police did not put out a public appeal until 23:00 GMT on Sunday, about one hour before the car was located.

Image caption,

Pink balloons as well as flowers were taken to the scene

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) will investigate police actions following missing person reports after the crash, it has confirmed.

Tamzin Samuels, 20, a friend of the women who helped in the search effort, said: “I do think the police could have done a lot more in putting the helicopters out earlier.

“They only posted the appeal an hour before the girls were found.”

At the vigil, a minute’s silence was held, while people stood holding hands in tears and hugging each other.

Cheers and calls of “fly high” could be heard as people released balloons, set off fireworks as well as pink and blue flares.

A relative of Mr Jeanne who did not want to be named told BBC Wales the family were “still in shock” by his death, but were heartened by the turnout of people.

“It goes to show how much he was loved by so many different people,” they said.

Image caption,

People at the vigil let off flares

The women, from Newport, had gone to The Muffler club in the Maesglas area of the city late on Friday.

They then travelled 36 miles (58km) to Trecco Bay, a caravan park in the seaside resort of Porthcawl, Bridgend county, with the two men, both from Cardiff.

Image source, Social media

Image caption,

Eve Smith, 21, Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Darcy Ross, 21, died in the crash

A Snapchat photo shared by Ms Ross’ sister showed her and Mr Jeanne together on the night they went missing.

The group was last seen in Llanedeyrn, Cardiff, in the early hours of Saturday, but it is not yet clear when the crash happened.

Image source, Ben Birchall/PA Wire

Image caption,

Friends and family tried to comfort each other at the vigil

South Wales Police and Gwent Police believe only one car was involved in the crash and confirmed the collision occurred during the early hours of Saturday.

The exact time will be confirmed by an investigation.

However, Ms Russon’s mum Anna Certowicz said police “didn’t seem to think it was worth investigating” at the start.

She criticised the police response, saying they could have been found sooner if officers had started investigating straight away.

‘Alarm bells’

Winston Roddick, former police and crime commissioner for north Wales, said the police’s response to worried parents’ calls about their missing children was “not quite right”.

He said the victims’ silence should have set off alarm bells sooner as young people today use their mobile phones continually.

“Maybe there should be questions asked and some effective inquiry made to see whether any one or more of them could be traced. If not, then the question mark becomes bigger,” he said.

Mr Roddrick said although this was an “unusual case”, it was not unusual for the two forces to be referred to the IOPC and added it was far too early to jump to conclusions.

The forces said they could not comment while an investigation was pending.

They confirmed a first missing person report was made to Gwent Police at 19:34 GMT on Saturday, with further missing person reports made at 19:43 and 21:32.

A further missing person report was made to South Wales Police at 17:37 on Sunday.

Image source, Ben Birchall/PA Wire

Image caption,

People gathered to grieve for the victims of the crash

The police helicopter was requested at 23:50 on Sunday to search an area of Cardiff, after which the Volkswagen was found, they said.

Matthew Pace, 45, and his son Lewis, 26, told Sky News that they found the car in a wooded area along the A48 just after midnight on Monday morning.

Matthew Pace said a police officer arrived soon after and another officer subsequently got the helicopter to search the area. The force then confirmed the vehicle had been found, he said.