What we know about Wales bus crash that has killed three teenagers
Morgan Smith, left and right, pictured with his father Daniel Chalfont, centre, has been named on social media as one of the teenagers killed in the crash. (Wales News Service) Three teenagers have died after a crash involving a car and a bus in a Welsh village. The three men who were killed, two aged 18 and one aged 19, were declared dead at the scene of the collision on Ely Valley Road in the village of Coedely, Wales.
One of the teenagers killed has been named in social media tributes as Morgan Smith, 18. Two other men, aged 18 and 19, were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries following the crash on Monday evening. Yahoo News UK examines what we know so far:
What we know
A crash involving a bus and a car has left three teenagers dead and two others fighting for their lives in hospital.
The collision between the bus and an Audi A1 car took place on Ely Valley Road, in the village of Coedely, Wales. Emergency services were called to the scene of the crash at about 7pm on Monday, and the three men who were killed, two aged 18 and one aged 19, were declared dead at the scene.
The crash happened on Monday evening in Coedely, South Wales. (Wales News Service) One of the men who died has been named on social media and in tributes as 18-year-old Morgan Smith, a keen boxer who won a Welsh youth title.
His father, Daniel Chalfont, posted on Facebook: “My baby boy Morgan Smith. Literally the most perfect son you could ever wish for. Miss you so much already.
Don’t know how I’ll live life without you. Literally broken.”
Morgan Smith, right, with his father Daniel Chalfont. (Wales News Service)
Daniel Chalfont, left, with his son Morgan Smith, right, who is believed to be one of three teenagers killed in the crash. (Wales News Service) It was reported that the five teenagers played together in the same rugby team from the age of 10. Another two men, aged 18 and 19, were taken to the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, with life-threatening injuries.
Two other people were also treated for minor injuries and the road has remained closed while investigations into the collision continue.
A police officer at the scene of the crash where three teenagers were killed. (Reach)
Three teenagers have died in a crash involving a car and a bus in Wales. (Wales News Service) Rhondda Cynon Taf council’s deputy mayor Councillor Dan Owen-Jones was at the scene soon after the crash after a resident called him. He said the incident has cast a “dark cloud over the community” and sent those affected his “deepest sympathies”.
He said a community centre was later opened as a “safe haven and warm place for distressed family and friends” arriving at the scene. Story continues “I couldn’t imagine their feelings,” he said. “What I’ve seen and witnessed, I never ever want to witness again.
What we don’t know
The three men who have died have yet to be formally identified by South Wales Police.
Although it is known that the other two men have life-threatening injuries, their exact condition in hospital is not known. It is also not known what vehicle the dead and seriously injured teenagers were in at the time of the crash. Police have also not revealed if the two people who suffered minor injuries were on the bus or in the Audi.
Police at the scene of the crash in the village of Coedely, Wales. (Wales News Service)
Three teenagers were declared dead at the scene and two others are fighting for their lives in hospital. (Reach)
It has not been established exactly what happened to cause the collision involving the car and the bus.
Anyone who witnessed the collision or the manner in which either vehicle was being driven prior to the collision is asked to contact South Wales Police.
Anyone with any dashcam or mobile phone footage or who witnessed the collision is asked to contact police quoting reference 2300420639.