A bus firm has published a statement clarifying none of its vehicles were involved in the tragic accident which killed two teenagers on an electric bike in Cardiff.
Harvey Evans, 15, and Kyrees Sullivan, 16, died in the Ely area on Monday, sparking rioting afterwards as police were blamed for harassing the pair.
The police have insisted they were not following the teens in a radio interview yesterday, but newly emerged footage obtained by the Mirror showed the same police van driving behind them half a mile away just minutes later on Stanway Road at approximately 6pm.
Locals believe the boys rode that way to flee the police van knowing it had bollards at the other end meaning the police could not give chase.
Tragically they died just moments later on Snowden Road at about 6:03pm.
Transport firm Cardiff Bus has now released a statement, following earlier reports suggesting one of its vehicles was involved.
It said: “Cardiff Bus wishes to extend its deepest sympathies to the families and friends of Kyrees Sullivan and Harvey Evans who lost their lives in a tragic incident on Monday night.
“We were made aware of misreporting in the media and on social media which suggested one of our vehicles was involved. This is not the case
“We have already asked newspapers and other outlets to correct this mistake but wanted to release this statement so the community knows none of our vehicles were involved.”
In its latest statement regarding the tragedy, South Wales Police published a timeline of events leading to the death of the pair.
It read: “On Monday evening a serious road traffic collision happened in Snowden Road, Ely, which tragically claimed the lives of Kyrees Sullivan and Harvey Evans, two friends who lived in the community of Ely.
“Our thoughts are with the families and friends of Kyrees and Harvey and everyone affected by this terrible incident. We can only begin to imagine the grief they are experiencing at this time.
“The families continue to be supported and updated by family liaison officers.
“I am aware of concerns in the local community regarding the timeline of events which culminated in the fatal collision, including CCTV footage which shows a police vehicle following a bike in Frank Road.
“We would have liked to have provided this level of information yesterday, but this is a complex investigation and we had to be sure of these facts before confirming them.
“We have been confirming that we have clear witness accounts, analysing tracking data from police vehicles and studying CCTV and this is what we now know.
“There was no police vehicle in Snowden Road at the time of the collision and we believe there were no other vehicles involved in the incident.
We have made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct to ensure the matter receives independent scrutiny. We will provide them with all the information we have, and they will undertake an independent investigation.
17:59.40 CCTV shows the bike travelling towards the police vehicle in Frank Road. The bike then turns around.
18:00.52 The bike is followed by the police vehicle, which you have already seen on CCTV images. Blue lights or sirens were not illuminated.
18:01.18 Police vehicle is at New Ely Church roundabout and travels through Archer Road, Stanway Road and Howell Road.
18:02.31 Police vehicle turns onto Grand Avenue.
18:02.18 – 18:02.41 approximate time of the road traffic collision in Snowden Road. At the time of the collision, the police van is in Grand Avenue, half a mile away from Snowden Road.
- 18:06.59 The police vehicle is on Cowbridge Road West when it receives information about a road traffic collision, illuminates blue lights and makes its way to the collision scene.
