Inquests have been opened into the deaths of the people who were killed in a car crash in Cardiff. All three, along with two others who were injured, had been reported missing and the car had crashed around 46 hours before they were discovered.
Eve Smith, 21, and Darcy Ross, 21, both of Newport, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, of Cardiff, were found dead on March 6 after the Volkswagen Tiguan they had been travelling in was discovered having crashed off the A48 near St Mellons. Sophie Russon, 20, from Newport, and Shane Loughlin, 32, from Cardiff, survived the crash but remain in hospital.
An outpouring of public grief met the news of the deaths of the young people with hundreds of people attending a vigil at the site of the crash near a wooded area. Before the crash was discovered appeals from friends and families were issued after they received no contact from those missing but their worst fears were later confirmed as reality. Both South Wales Police and Gwent Police have both referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over their respective handlings of the case.
