A mum has told how she drove “three times” past the site where her daughter lay injured and three of her friends were killed in a horror crash in South Wales.
Sophie Russon, 20, was one of the five in the car who were returning from a night out in Cardiff on Saturday when the deadly smash happened on the A48.
And Anna Certowicz, 41, has said how she was desperately looking for her missing daughter Sophie with the car not found until Monday morning.
“I drove past her three times, she was 20 yards away lying there scared next to her friend who were dead. But I didn’t see her because of the trees and there was a dip - it’s a busy road, thousands of people must have gone past,” she said.
Police have launched an investigation with Eve Smith and Darcy Ross, both 21, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, believed to have died in the crash while Sophie and Shane Loughlin, 32, suffered injuries.
On Monday, a police spokesperson said the VW Tiguan had been recovered just after midnight in the St Mellons area of Cardiff.
Police believe the car was involved in a road traffic collision and came off the A48(M) but it is not clear exactly when that happened.
Anna told how her daughter suffered head injuries in the crash.
“She was lying there wondering if help would ever arrive. She must have thought she was going to die. It is terrifying,” she told The Sun.
“It would have got light and then dark as night fell on Saturday, then she had to go through that again until she was found. But she had head injuries so she may not have really known what was going on, at least I hope she didn’t.”
Gwent Police said the two injured people were being treated in hospital for serious injuries.
"Specialist officers are supporting the families of those involved and enquiries are ongoing," a force spokeswoman said.
"The case has been referred to the IOPC in line with normal procedures."
Anna Certowicz had visited her daughter in hospital, saying: “They let me in to see her last night but she all tubed up and not conscious. We are all just hoping and praying she makes it.
“The next 48 hours are critical - she is having surgery now and we are hoping and praying.
“I can’t stop thinking about how Sophie had to lie there wondering if she would ever be found.”
Ms Certowicz has also been critical of the police reaction when the five people were reported missing and she claims she was not taken seriously.
Families and friends of the missing five people issued a number of appeals over the weekend after getting increasingly concerned as time went by without them having had any contact with them.
But Ms Certowicz told the Daily Mail of the police: “They didn’t seem to care. I had to drive to Cardiff to knock on doors myself because they were doing s*d all. They just didn't seem to think it was worth investigating. It was so frustrating.
"I think they assumed that Sophie was hungover somewhere, but she's a sensible girl who works in a bank and hasn't taken a day off for three years. She's not someone who's out clubbing in Cardiff all the time. On Friday nights she's more likely to be babysitting so other people can go out. She wouldn't just vanish like this unless something was wrong.
"The police asked me to stop ringing but at the end of the day I'm a mum I'm going to worry. Her little sister is worrying too, she's only 13 and she's wondering where Sophie is."
An IOPC spokesman said: "We can confirm that Gwent Police have advised us that they are making a referral in connection with this tragic incident and we will carry out an assessment in due course to determine what further action may be required from us."
