Man, 47, arrested at scene of Newport crash for disturbing the peace as devastated friends leave flowers to 3 killed
A MAN has been arrested at the scene of a car crash which left three people dead after five friends disappeared from a nightclub.
Cops today discovered three bodies after Rafel Jeanne-Actie, EveSmith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin vanished on Friday night.
The group had not been seen since enjoying a night out at the Muffler nightclub in Newport, Wales.
And after a desperate search, Gwent Police this morning confirmed a car had been found, with three of the five occupants tragically killed.
Police have not confirmed the identities of those killed in the crash – however Eve’s family have confirmed she is one of the three dead.
Now cops have said a 47-year-old man from the Rumney area of Cardiff, has been arrested at the scene for prevention of breach of the peace.
It is understood he was arrested after being asked to leave the area.
Speaking before he was arrested, he told reporters: “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 worries me, and I feel for the families because from what I can see from the reports they did have a feeling something was wrong and they were flagging it up. Their instincts were correct.
“I have some fears that perhaps when the reports came they had gone missing people thought: ‘Oh, it’s just a night out’.
“It’s natural they might have disappeared for a bit, but the families’ instincts are right.”
It comes after Sophie’s mum Anna Certowicz, 42, had yesterday claimed cops did not take the disappearances seriously at first.
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.
“I think they assumed that Sophie was hungover somewhere, but she’s a sensible girl who works in a bank and hasn’t taken a day off for three years… She wouldn’t just vanish like this unless something was wrong.”
Anna also claimed cops told her to “stop ringing” when she called to report her daughter missing.
She added all three missing women have been friends since they were 10 years old.
It comes as…
- Three pals were found dead in a crashed car after five people vanished while on a night out in Newport
- Eve Smith, 21, was confirmed dead by her family, who had tragically lost her sister in a crash eight years ago
- Two pals were pictured beaming on the night out before the tragedy
- The mum of Sophie Russon claimed cops told her to stop calling
- She has now revealed her agony at desperately searching for her daughter while she lay critically injured
- Haunting CCTV was shared by friends of the car before it vanished in the early hours of Saturday
- Police are now probing just what happened in the hours before the crash
It’s believed a car the girls were travelling in on Friday was involved in a road traffic collision and came off the A48.
Gwent Police said: “Three of those who were reported missing have been found deceased, two have been taken to hospital with serious injuries.”
Police have not confirmed the identities of those killed in the crash.
The VW Tiguan was recovered just after midnight on Monday March 6.
Specialist officers are supporting the families of those involved and enquiries are ongoing.
A spokesperson from Gwent Police told The Sun: “We understand how distressing it is when a loved one goes missing, we have seen the media reports about this and we will be liaising closely with the families involved to find out more information and address any concerns of this nature.”
Anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101, or send a direct message on social media, quoting 2300071791.
The case has been referred to the IOPC in line with normal procedures.