Father of Cardiff crash victim says ‘nothing will be the same’
The father of one of the three victims of a car crash in Cardiff has said ‘nothing will be the same’ after his daughter’s death.
Eve Smith and Darcy Ross, both 21, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, died in the collision, which happened on the A48(M) near the St Mellons area of Cardiff in the early hours of Saturday March 4.
Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, who were also travelling in the white Volkswagen Tiguan, remain in a critical condition in hospital.
They were not found until the early hours of Monday.
Ms Smith’s father Everton Smith spoke in front of floral tributes laid for his daughter in Newport’s Commercial Street on Thursday, the BBC reported.
He said his daughter was ‘everything a father could wish for’.
‘It’s going to change my life, I don’t know how much it will,’ Mr Smith said.
‘Nothing will be the same. I just need her here to get me through this. This is an impossible situation.’
Ms Smith’s death comes eight years after her sister Xana Doyle, 19, was killed in a car crash.
The driver, who was twice the drink-drive limit, was prosecuted and Ms Smith took part in a Sky TV documentary about the incident and campaigned for tougher sentences.
‘This is like nothing anyone could expect to go through, it’s like deja vu,’ Mr Smith said.
He said he was unsurprised about the floral tributes left for Ms Smith as there was ‘something special’ about his daughter.
The group had been to The Muffler social club in Maesglas, Newport, on Friday night and then travelled just under 40 miles to the Trecco Bay caravan park in Porthcawl.
Investigations are still ongoing to establish the exact time of the crash.
South Wales Police said they are still working to ‘piece together’ what happened.
In a statement, the force said: ‘South Wales Police is continuing to investigate the fatal road traffic collision on the A48 in the St Mellons area of Cardiff.
‘Our thoughts continue to be with the families and all those affected by this tragic incident.
‘Specialist officers are carrying out a detailed investigation to piece together what has happened.
‘Family liaison officers are supporting the families involved at what must be a hugely difficult time for them.’
Tributes were paid to the victims of the car crash in the Welsh Parliament on Wednesday.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has launched an investigation into the actions of South Wales Police and Gwent Police during the search for the group who were not found until just after midnight on Monday, March 6.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.