Victims of horror Cardiff car crash which claimed three lives and left two others trapped for 48 hours ‘were drinking alcohol and inhaling laughing gas’ before car veered of …
Victims of horror Cardiff car crash which claimed three lives and left two others trapped for 48 hours ‘were drinking alcohol and inhaling laughing gas’ before car veered of road and smashed into trees
- Joel Samuel Lia, 28, was charged with driving without a licence or insurance
The occupants of the car which crashed killing three people in Cardiff in March had been drinking and inhaling nitrous oxide prior to the incident, a friend has told police.
Driver Rafel Jeanne, 24, and passengers Darcy Ross, 21, and Eve Smith, 21, died in a crash on the A48 near the St Mellons area of the Welsh capital on Saturday March 4.
The two remaining passengers, Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, were injured but survived.
The tragedies occurred at 2.03am when a Volkswagen Tiguan veered off a slip road approaching a roundabout and came to rest in a small copse of trees.
Court papers seen by PA revealed the group had been drinking alcohol and inhaling nitrous oxide prior to the collision.
Rafel Jeanne (left), 24, and Darcy Ross (right), 21, were killed in the crash in Cardiff
Eve Smith, 21, was one the three people who died in the crash on March 6
Sophie Russon, 20, was wounded in the crash in March near Cardiff but has survived
Shane Loughlin, 32, was also wounded in the incident near Cardiff but has also survived
The details emerged in a behind-closed-doors hearing at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court for Joel Lia, the sixth member of the group, who had been driving the Volkswagen Tiguan an hour before the crash.
Lia, 28, of Rumney, Cardiff, was charged with driving without a licence or insurance in Porthcawl.
The five were discovered on Monday March 6, around 46 hours after the crash happened.
The length of time taken by Gwent Police and South Wales Police to find the group, who were reported missing by family members, is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
The group had been on a night out at The Muffler social club in Maesglas, Newport, on March 3 and then travelled in the Volkswagen Tiguan just under 40 miles to the Trecco Bay Caravan Park in Porthcawl, where they are said to have spent some time in one of the caravans on site.
A noise complaint was made to the park’s security lodge about the group, the PA news agency understands.
They left the site a short time later and were last seen at about 2am in the Pentwyn area of Cardiff, dropping off a sixth member of their group.
Joel Samuel Lia, 28, of Rumney, Cardiff, was charged with driving without a licence or insurance in Porthcawl
Relatives of the friends previously shared this CCTV image of the car they were travelling in
A vehicle is recovered and moved under a cover from the A48 near Cardiff on March 6
Detective Constable Joanne Mahony took a witness statement from Lia in which he admitted driving the car even though he did not have a licence.
‘During the course of the statement, Joel stated that he had driven along the M4 from Porthcawl to his sister’s address in Llanederyn at approximately 1am on March 4,’ she said.
‘Whilst the interview was not monitored, Lia asked me if anything would happen to him as he knew he did not hold a full UK driving licence and he had admitted driving.
‘In light of this investigation CCTV inquiries were conducted along the route of the M4 towards Cardiff to capture the vehicle.’
CCTV from a petrol station in Porthcawl showed the Volkswagen Tiguan pulling on to the forecourt at 1.08am and leaving three minutes later.
‘On stopping at the garage, Joel Lia exits the rear offside of the vehicle and, when the driver exits the driver’s seat, Joel Lia then enters the driver’s seat. He then drives the vehicle off the forecourt,’ police documents state.
The papers go on to say that DC Mahony, the officer in the case, took a signed statement from Lia in which he admitted driving without holding a full UK licence.
‘All other persons in the vehicle were intoxicated, by Joel’s admission, as they had been drinking alcohol and inhaling nitrous oxide throughout the course of the evening,’ the documents state.
The scene in the St Mellons area of Cardiff as police investigated the crash in March
Floral tributes left on March 8 near the scene of the incident on the A48 in a Cardiff suburb
‘The vehicle did not display L plates which can be seen on CCTV. The officer in the case has reviewed the CCTV as part of this unrelated case and can positively identify Joel Lia as the person entering the driver’s seat.’
Lia pleaded guilty to both charges and the case was adjourned until August 24.
An initial inquest was told that the three who died were declared dead at the scene of the crash.
The hearing was adjourned to await the findings of further histology and toxicology tests.
References
- ^ George Iddenden (www.dailymail.co.uk)