Search for sixth passenger ‘who left car shortly before Cardiff horror crash’
Police are reportedly hunting a sixth passenger who was in the car involved in Saturday’s horror crash in Cardiff.
Eve Smith and Darcy Ross, both 21, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, died in the collision, which took place in St Mellons.
Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, remain in a critical condition.
Detectives are looking for a sixth passenger who reportedly left the vehicle shortly before the crash took place.
A source told the Sun: ‘We heard they went to the caravan park and there was some sort of altercation, we don’t know what that was, but they had to leave.
‘There was another man in the car who wanted to go home. They dropped him off and then at some point crashed.’
South Wales Police declined to comment on the ongoing investigation when contacted by the Sun.
Metro.co.uk has contacted the force for any additional information available.
The group of friends involved in Saturday’s crash had been to a social club in Maesglas, Newport, on Friday and are thought to have then travelled 40 miles to the Trecco Bay area of Porthcawl.
After failing to go home, the five were reported missing by their families.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has launched an investigation into two police forces over the search for missing victims.
It came after a friend of Rafel Jeanne discovered the car after just 15 minutes of searching.
Sophie Russon, 20, was so badly injured in the collision that she was unable to reach her phone and call for help.
The bank worker has since undergone life-saving surgery in hospital.
Her mother, Anna Cerowicz, told the Sun: ’She doesn’t know where she is or what happened.
‘She had panic attacks throughout the night when she came round so they sedated her.
A vigil was held at the crash site on Tuesday evening where around 1,000 people gathered, lighting candles and flares while others rode mopeds, motorbikes and quad bikes around the roundabout.
A firework display lit up the sky above St Mellons for around 30 minutes while family and friends looked on.
Police have confirmed the group were last seen at about 2am on Saturday in Pentwyn, Cardiff.
In a joint statement, Gwent Police and South Wales Police said a helicopter was asked to search an area of Cardiff at 11.50pm on Sunday, which the forces said led to the vehicle being found 25 minutes later.
Timeline: police confirm stages of investigation
- The last confirmed sighting of the five people was at 2am on Saturday 4th March in Pentwyn.
- The collision occurred during the early hours of Saturday 4th March, the exact time to be confirmed by the investigation, including CCTV and ANPR enquiries.
- The first missing person report was made to Gwent Police at 7.34pm on Saturday 4th March.
- Further missing person reports were made to Gwent Police at 7.43pm and 9.32pm on Saturday 4th March.
- A further missing person report was made to South Wales Police at 5.37pm on Sunday 5th March.
- At 11.50pm on Sunday 5th March the police helicopter was requested to search an area of Cardiff which resulted in a vehicle being located in a wooded area off the A48.
- Gwent Police officers on the ground had sight of the car (a Volkswagen Tiguan) at 12:02am on Monday 6th March, and this culminated in a log being created by South Wales Police at 12:15am.
- At this stage, police believe only one vehicle to be involved.
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