Cardiff car crash – latest: Police hit back at claims over missing search

Police involved in the search for victims following the fatal Cardiff car crash have hit back at claims suggesting members of the public discovered the wreckage, not officers.

Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21 and Rafel Jeanne, 24, died after a Volkswagen Tiguan came off the A48(M) and crashed into trees. Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, remain in critical condition.

The three found dead and two others seriously injured in the crash are reported to have lain in the wreckage for up to 46 hours before being discovered.

The victims’ loved ones have since accused South Wales Police and the Gwent force of not taking the missing person reports seriously, alleging the car was only found through their own search efforts.

In a joint statement, police said that shortly before midnight on Sunday, a police helicopter “was requested to search an area of Cardiff which resulted in a vehicle being located in a wooded area off the A48.”

Two officers in the area then arrived to discover the Volkswagen Tiguan, the statement said.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has confirmed they will launch an official investigation into the actions of the Gwent and South Wales police forces after the fatal Cardiff car crash.

The police watchdog said they will investigate the actions of two Welsh police forces after criticism that they did not appear to take the matter seriously.

“After careful assessment of referrals from Gwent police and South Wales police, we have decided to independently investigate how police responded to the missing person reports,” said IOPC director David Ford.

“We will be examining what information police had, the grading given to any risk assessments and the steps taken by police to locate the missing people prior to the Volkswagen Tiguan being found just after midnight on Monday.

“We will also consider what communication took place between the two forces and whether police action was appropriate and followed relevant policy and procedures.”

He said that the IOPC’s investigation was “at a very early stage”.

Gwent police and South Wales police say they referred the matter to the IOPC “as is usual in these circumstances”.

One of the victims of a fatal Cardiff car crash that killed three people also lost her sister to a road accident eight years ago.

The bodies of Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, were pulled from the wreckage of the Volkswagen Tiguan in St Mellons, Cardiff on Monday morning – almost 48 hours after they were last seen.

Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, were found alive, having spent two days critically injured as police searched for them.

In 2020, Ms Smith appeared alongside her stepfather Tony Borg and mother Emma for the TV show This is Our Family documenting how they coped after the death of her half-sister, Xana Doyle.

The 19-year-old aspiring beautician was killed when a stolen car in which she was a passenger flipped over while travelling at 60 mph in 2015.

Read the full story by Thomas Kingsley here:

The friend of a young man killed in a car crash near Cardiff on Sunday has criticised police over claims they failed to find the victims.

Matthew Pace, 45, and his 26-year-old son Lewis told Sky News that the police should have started looking for the missing passengers sooner.

The father and son - who said he was “best friends” with 24-year-old victim Rafel Jeanne - claim they located the car shortly after midnight on Sunday morning, crashed in a wooded area along the A48.

The police arrived “about a minute” after Mr Pace and his father found the vehicle, they said.

Read the full story by Eleanor Noyce here:

Fateful night out included 70-mile round trip that started with Sophie Russon, Eve Smith, and Darcy Ross at Muffler bar in Newport. Read the full piece by Martha McHardy here:

A girl injured in a fatal Cardiff car crash called out for help but no one could hear her, as friends claim they found the wreckage before the police.

The bodies of Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, were pulled from the wreckage of the Volkswagen Tiguan in St Mellons, Cardiff on Monday morning – almost 48 hours after they were last seen.

Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, were found alive, having spent two days critically injured amid a police search.

Anna Certowicz, mother of Sophie, said she spent two days driving around South Wales searching for her daughter after she claimed police told her “stop calling.” The mother said she drove past the site where the white VW Tiguan was found three times in her desperate hunt, passing within 20 yards of the SUV that was hidden by trees.

She revealed that her daughter was ‘conscious some of the time’ in the car after it ran off the A48 in Cardiff and had ‘called out but no one was close enough to hear her.’

Read the full story by Thomas Kingsley here:

Hundreds of people gathered in Cardiff on Tuesday evening to pay tribute to the victims of a deadly car crash. A firework display lit up the sky near the crash site in St Mellons as friends and family looked on.

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

The group had been to a social club in Maesglas, Newport, on Friday, 3 March. When they did not return home, the five were reported missing.

Watch the video here:

The police have set out a timeline of events leading to the discovery of a crashed car in which three people died and two were seriously injured.

Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, died in the accident while Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, survived but remain in a critical condition at the University Hospital of Wales, according to police.

The five were in a Volkswagen Tiguan that came off the A48(M) in Cardiff and crashed into trees in the St Mellons area of the city.

Gwent and South Wales Police released information in a joint statement on Tuesday afternoon that they said was the result of an initial investigation.

Both forces have come under heavy criticism over the length of time it took to discover the wreckage.

Read the full story by Bronwen Weatherby here:

Tributes have been paid to three people who were killed in a car crash in Cardiff. Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21 and Rafel Jeanne, 24, died in the accident. Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, remain in critical condition, police have confirmed.

Watch the video here:

A survivor of a fatal Cardiff car crash lay injured beside her dead friends for two days before they were found, her mother has said.

Speaking to The Sun, Sophie Russon’s mother told of how while searching for her daughter, she unwittingly drove three times past the scene of the crash.

“Sophie was 20 yards away lying there scared, next to her friends who were dead. But I didn’t see her because of the trees and there was a dip.”

“She was lying there wondering if help would ever arrive,” said Ms Certowicz. “She must have thought she was going to die.

“She had head injuries so she may not have really known what was going on — at least I hope she didn’t.”