Police hunt sixth passenger who left car shortly before three killed in smash
Police investigating the deaths of three childhood friends killed in a crash which injured two others are looking into reports of a sixth passenger.
Eve Smith and Darcy Ross, both 21, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, died in the incident, while Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, remain in a critical condition after the Volkswagen Tiguan left the A48(M) in Cardiff and hit trees in the St Mellons area of the city.
Police are looking into a visit to a caravan park in Porthcawl after the group had been to Muffler nightclub in Newport.
Afterwards a sixth passenger is said to have been dropped off in Cardiff.
The car later ended up in a twisted wreck.
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A police spokesman confirmed the investigation into the sixth passenger and told The Mirror: "While that investigation is ongoing we will not be commenting further."
Eve Smith, centre, and Darcy Ross, right, died, and 20-year-old Sophie Russon, left, was badly injuredIt is not known exactly why they visited the caravan site, but is is believed Mr Loughlin's family has a caravan there.
Meanwhile, an anonymous source told The Sun: “The girls are very well known at Mufflers, their families all drink here.
“Two of the girls just popped in to use the toilets. I've never seen the men before, they don’t come in here.
“We heard they went to the caravan park.
“There was another man in the car who wanted to go home. They dropped him off and then at some point crashed."
Shane Loughlin remains in critical condition (Media Wales)
Rafel Jeanne also died in the tragedyA friend, who helped search for the group, wrote on social media that the group had been to the caravan site where the security guards last saw them.
A spokesperson for the caravan park, which is run by Park Dean Resorts, said they were unable to comment due to the ongoing police investigation.
Around 1,000 people attended a candlelit vigil held at the crash site last night.
Further CCTV of the carA firework display lit up the sky above St Mellons for around 30 minutes while family and friends looked on.
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Rafel's sister, Ffion Actie, told Sky News at the vigil she feels "disappointed" police did not act sooner.
She said: "I heard the girls' mums had contacted (police) but it had taken several hours (to respond).
"I feel they should have acted straight away."
People at a vigil in Cardiff in the victims' honour (WALES NEWS SERVICE)The comments came as the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) announced an investigation into two forces over the search.
The first call reporting the victims as missing was made to police at 7.34pm on Saturday, while further reports were made up until 5.37pm on Sunday.
Hundreds of people took part in searches but Gwent Police did not issue a public appeal for help until 11pm on Sunday.
The friends are said to have visited a caravan park hours before the tragedy (MEDIA WALES)David Ford, IOPC director, said: "After careful assessment of referrals from and South Wales Police, we have decided to independently investigate how police responded to the missing person reports.
"We will be examining what information police had, the grading given to any risk assessments and the steps taken by police to locate the missing people prior to the Volkswagen Tiguan being found just after midnight on Monday.
"We will also consider what communication took place between the two forces and whether police action was appropriate and followed relevant policy and procedures."
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