Survivor of Cardiff car crash releases first statement from hospital

‘I’m gutted, I can’t believe it’: Survivor of Cardiff car crash who spent two days clinging to life in wrecked vehicle releases first statement from hospital bed in tribute to his dead friends

• Shane Loughlin, 32, seriously injured in the Cardiff car crash that killed three
• He said he ‘can’t believe’ what happened and is ‘gutted’ after finding 

One of the Cardiff car crash survivors, who spent two days clinging to his life in the wreckage, has spoken for the first time from hospital.

Shane Loughlin, 32, was seriously injured in the fatal smash and said he ‘can’t believe’ what happened and is ‘gutted’.

Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, were killed, while Mr Loughlin and Sophie Russon, 20, were injured during the crash on the A48 in the St Mellons area of Cardiff, on March 4.

Mr Loughlin said: ‘Only just found out what happened just want to say sorry to everyone and thank you everyone who helped with the search party and thank you for everyone wishing me well I’ll be back soon love you all.

‘Rip Rafel, Eve, and Darcy. Can’t believe it gutted is an understatement heart goes out to all families and friends of the people that have passed. Long way to recovery mentally and physically but we’ll get there.’

Shane Loughlin, 32, (pictured) also spent nearly two days critically injured in the car. He said he was ‘gutted’ after finding out about the crash

 Mr Loughlin said: ‘Only just found out what happened just want to say sorry to everyone and thank you everyone who helped with the search party and thank you for everyone wishing me well I’ll be back soon love you all’

Pictured: The scene in the St Mellons area of Cardiff where the car was found 

Three young people died and two were injured during the crash on the A48 in the St Mellons area of Cardiff, on March 4

Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, and Ms Russon, 20, were friends since infant school and had been at the Muffler bar in Newport, where they met Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Shane Loughlin, 32, for the first time, before they all left together at around 11.15pm on Friday.

They are then thought to have driven 36 miles to Trecco Bay caravan park in Porthcawl, where Mr Loughlin’s family had a caravan, but left after an argument, it was claimed.

They travelled 28 miles back to Cardiff, where they are said to have dropped off a sixth member of the group.

Mr Loughlin added: ‘Rip Rafel, Eve, and Darcy. Can’t believe it gutted is an understatement heart goes out to all families and friends of the people that have passed. Long way to recovery mentally and physically but we’ll get there’

It was almost two days before the wreckage was found and Mr Loughlin and Ms Russon, the only survivors of the crash, were taken to hospital 

Mr Loughlin has remained in hospital, where he is being treated for serious injuries following the crash

They were last seen in the car at 2am on Saturday in CCTV footage taken at a petrol station in the Pentwyn area of Cardiff, not far from the crash site.

It was almost two days before the wreckage was found and Mr Loughlin and Ms Russon, the only survivors of the crash, were taken to hospital.

Trainee bank manager Sophie Russon, 20, had life-saving surgery after fracturing her skull in the incident, which led to a bleed on her brain.

Her mother Anna Certowicz, 41, stayed by her daughter’s side and alleged that ‘policemen on foot had searched the area but didn’t find anything’ prior to the discovery of the wreckage on Monday.

Ms Certowicz, from Newport, said ‘you can’t recognise’ Ms Russon, who was sedated in hospital, because of her injuries from the crash, which left one man and two women dead.

She said her daughter was ‘cold, scared stiff, not able to reach her mobile phone’ while in the ruined car.

Sophie Russon, 20, is sedated in hospital after going through life-saving surgery after fracturing her skull in the crash, which led to a bleed on her brain

Anna Certowicz, 42, (pictured with Ms Russon, right) believes her daughter and her two friends met Rafel Jeanne and Shaun Loughlin for the first time on the night of the tragedy 

Ms Certowicz said her daughter Sophie Russon was suspended upside down in the wreckage for two days and is ‘unrecognisable’ from her injuries

Pictured: The scene in the St Mellons area of Cardiff where the car was found 

The trees meant the site of the fatal crash was hidden to motorists passing nearby

Eve Smith, 21, (pictured) whose sister Xana was killed by a drug and drink driver in 2015, died in the crash

Darcy Ross, 21, (pictured) was also killed in the incident. The group was last seen in the car at 2am on Saturday in CCTV footage taken at a petrol station in the Pentwyn area of Cardiff, not far from the crash site

Shane Loughlin, 32, (left) also spent nearly two days critically injured in the car. His friend Rafel Jeanne, 24, (right) was the son of former Cardiff City and QPR footballer Leon Jeanne, who was once dubbed Wales’ most promising footballer 

When the five were found at the side of the busy A48, on the outskirts of Cardiff shortly after midnight on Monday, it was 46 hours since they had last been seen. 

Ms Certowicz told The Sun of her daughter: ‘She had panic attacks throughout the night when she came round so they sedated her.

‘She’s in shock and has a lot of injuries.’

The 20-year-old trainee bank manager was sedated in hospital after having panic attacks through the night

Ms Russon’s mother Anna Certowicz, 41, (left, with her daughter) has stayed at her daughter’s bedside

She said her daughter was ‘cold, scared stiff, not able to reach her mobile phone’ while in the crashed car

Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, and Ms Russon, 20, were friends since infant school and had been at the Muffler bar in Newport, where they met Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Shane Loughlin, 32, for the first time, before they all left together at around 11.15pm on Friday. 

They are then thought to have driven 36 miles to Trecco Bay caravan park in Porthcawl, where Mr Loughlin’s family had a caravan, but left after an argument, it was claimed. 

They travelled 28 miles back to Cardiff, where they are said to have dropped off a sixth member of the group.

They were last seen in the car at 2am on Saturday in CCTV footage taken at a petrol station in the Pentwyn area of Cardiff, not far from the crash site. 

Eve Smith, 21, (pictured), Darcy Ross, 21, and Sophie Russon, 20, were friends since infant school 

Ms Smith was good friends with Darcy Ross (left) and Sophie Russon (right). The three had known each other from a young age

Pictured: Mr Jeanne partying on Friday night in Newport with Darcy Ross. Both youngsters were killed in the crash

Best friends Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, and Sophie Russon, 20, met Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Shane Loughlin, 32, at a social club in Newport 

Eve Smith, 21, (second from left) Darcy Ross, 21, (far left) and Sophie Russon, 20, (centre) were friends since infant school and had been at the Muffler bar in Newport, where they met Rafel Jeanne, 24, (second from right) and Shane Loughlin, 32, (far right) for the first time, before they all left together at around 11.15pm on Friday

Ms Certowicz said police did not take her seriously when she contacted them numerous times from Saturday lunchtime.

Yesterday Lewis Pace, 26, who found the car involved in the crash, slammed police for not acting quickly enough – as he revealed he was best friends with one of the victims. 

The 26-year-old and his father Matthew, 45, were searching for the missing group of five when they spotted tyre tracks across the grass at a roundabout. 

They investigated and found the white Volkswagen Tiguan wedged behind trees. 

Lewis was close friends with Mr Jeanne.

Yesterday he told Sky News: ‘As soon as they were reported missing they should have been out there looking for them, at the end of the day they were missing so there should have been a search there and then.

Lewis Pace, 26, and his father Matthew, 45, were searching for the missing group of friends in Cardiff when they spotted tyre tracks across grass at a roundabout

Lewis was best friends with Mr Jeanne (pictured), one of three young people who died in the crash 

‘Obviously I didn’t think anything of it until I saw he was reported missing, I saw comments on Facebook that the police were not taking it seriously, obviously they definitely should have been.’

The father and son had only been looking for 15 minutes when they came across the car, according to The Sun.

Lewis said police were searching ‘literally next’ to where the vehicle was, so he is unsure why it was not found sooner. 

‘When I saw them skid marks, obviously I was praying that it was nothing to do with it and it turns out it was, but the police were searching literally next to where we found it and anyway the helicopter was in the sky, so I don’t know how it wasn’t found quicker,’ he said. 

‘I was just praying it wasn’t, of course, I was just praying it wasn’t them.’

Lewis said Mr Jeanne was a ‘very good kid’ adding: ‘We were very very close, we did most things together.

‘I’m devastated. I can’t cope, I can’t eat. It’s just devastating. He’s just hilarious, honestly the best way to describe him is just funny, like he’s always up for a laugh. I just miss him already.’ 

His father Matthew, 46, who lives two miles from the crash site, in Pontprennau, Cardiff, said: ‘The minute they were reported missing, surely they should have been looking, searching.

‘Especially when witnesses saw five people in the car and there’s no contact off any of them, I thought they’d have been looking all day Saturday.’

Matthew said he and Lewis pulled up at the roundabout in St Mellons, Cardiff, after spotting the tyre marks leading to a wooded area.

He said a policewoman arrived ‘about a minute later’ and Matthew pointed her towards a thicket of trees that has since been cut away with saws.

He said: ‘I pulled up, I was in the field, in the woods and then she pulled up behind me,’ he said.

‘She was asking why I was there, and I said: “There’s all tyre marks here” and then her colleague came out, looked at the tyre marks and they got the helicopter to search in this bush and that’s when it was confirmed it was there.’

Ms Certowicz also said the police response wasn’t good enough and has alleged that police on foot had searched the wooded spot where the white Volkswagen Tiguan was hidden from view for 48 hours.

She said: ‘Policemen on foot had searched the area but didn’t find anything.

‘It was on a main road, next to a roundabout and opposite a garden centre. It doesn’t make sense.

‘We told the police where to look and one of them told me later that night that drink drivers use that stretch of road.’

The police watchdog is now inspecting both South Wales Police and Gwent Police amid questions about the speed of their response. 

A missing person report was filed with Gwent Police at around 9pm on Saturday, the Daily Telegraph reported. 

Yet an official appeal was not issued until just after 11pm on Sunday – more than a day later. 

READ MORE: Sister of 21-year-old killed in crash shares heartbreaking tribute – eight years after their older sibling died in drug-drive smash

In the meantime, relatives were frantically appealing for information on social media and had even started their own searches for their relatives.     

Ms Certowicz, said she was appalled by the apparent lack of concern among officers when she first reported her daughter missing.

In response, she was forced to mount her own search around Gwent and Cardiff after the force told her to ‘stop ringing’ the station for updates.  

‘They didn’t seem to care,’ Ms Certowicz said. ‘I had to drive to Cardiff to knock on doors myself because they were doing sod 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.’

Ms Certowicz said she drove past the site where the car was found three times in her desperate hunt, passing within 20 yards of it. It could not be seen from the road due to camber and trees.

South Wales Police and Gwent Police have since referred the matter to the Independent Office For Police conduct. 

Ms Certowicz was one of 200 people out searching for the five adults. 

She revealed that her daughter was ‘conscious some of the time’ in the car after it ran off the A48 in Cardiff and had ‘called out but no one was close enough to hear her.’ 

She said: ‘I feel terrible for the families of Eve and Darcy, they were all best friends and had known each other since they were small’, adding the only people who knew what happened were her daughter and the other survivor Shane, who only met the girls for the first time on Friday night.

An official Go Fund Me to support the victims’ families was also announced this week.

Ms Russon is critical but stable in hospital and undergoing surgery for a bleed on the brain and fractures to her neck, spine and face. 

Ms Certowicz said: ‘It’s too awful to imagine what she went through trapped in the car in the dark until it got light and then dark again over two days. 

‘Sophie was lying there for all that time, they could all have been found much quicker if the police had started searching straight away.’

Ms Certowicz said she made her first call to Gwent Police at noon on Saturday. 

She made ten calls that day but police kept telling her not to worry, and that Ms Russon was ‘probably out partying’, she said. 

Shane Loughlin, 32, who only met the girls for the first time on Friday night, survived the crash 

Her daughter was eventually found and cut out of the VW Tiguan where she spent two days knowing her friends were dead alongside her.

Ms Smith and Mr Jeanne died in the crash in the early hours of Saturday morning. 

Ms Certowicz said the only people who knew what happened were her daughter and the other survivor, Mr Loughlin.

All five victims who had been out together in Cardiff and Newport were found shortly after midnight on Sunday.

Speaking at the scene, a friend of the three girls said the police could have ‘done more’. 

Tamzin Samuels, 20, said: ‘They only posted the appeal an hour before the girls were found. We found them before the police found them – we rang the police.

‘The search party found the girls before the police. I think that speaks volumes really, they had all that equipment, and we had cars when we were looking.

‘They were really popular girls, the life of the party, and it was really out of character for them to do what they did, which is why we knew something was wrong.’

Another searcher at the crash scene, who asked not to be named, told the Daily Mail: ‘We thought we could hear someone shouting ‘help’ coming from the dense bushes where the car ended up.’

She added: ‘The police were telling us all to wait for the other emergency services to cut everyone out of the car and give them proper medical treatment.

‘It didn’t sit well with me, just stood there helpless, having heard that voice pleading with us to help. I have no doubt a lot more could have been done a lot earlier, especially by the police. There are going to be some serious questions asked and some difficult answers are going to have to be given.’

Mr Jeanne was the son of former Cardiff City and QPR footballer Leon Jeanne (pictured), who was once dubbed Wales’ most promising footballer before being jailed in a drugs case

Eve (right with mother Emma, stepfather Tony and her brother) in the Sky TV show This is Our Family, which followed their lives after the death of her sister Xana in a car crash in 2015

Eve Smith’s sister Xana Doyle (left, and together right) was killed by a drunk and drug driver in 2015

Assistant Chief Constable Jason Davies, of South Wales Police, confirmed the police watchdog would now investigate what happened. 

‘Our thoughts are with the families of all those affected by this tragic incident,’ he said. 

‘Specialist officers are carrying out an investigation to piece together what has happened. 

‘Family liaison officers are supporting the families involved at what must be a hugely difficult time for them.

‘To ensure independent oversight, South Wales Police has referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, as is usual in these circumstances.’

Gwent Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hobrough said: ‘This is an extremely sad situation, and our thoughts are with the families and friends of each of the young people involved. 

‘We will continue to support the investigation and would ask members of the public to refrain from speculation during this period.’ 

Details have emerged about the victims as police continue to piece together the events leading up to the crash.    

Mr Jeanne is the son of former Queens Park Rangers footballer Leon Jeanne, 42. 

Meanwhile, Ms Smith tragically lost her sister Xana was killed in a car crash in January 2015. 

Sakhawat Ali, then 23, who was high on cocaine and cannabis and twice the drink-drive limit, had given Xana a lift home from a party. 

She was a passenger when they flipped over at 60mph in January 2015. 

Eve and Xana’s stepfather is Tony Borg, a former boxer who trained Welsh Olympic medal-winning boxers and world champion Lee Selby. 

After Xana was killed, Eve paid an emotional tribute to her saying she had ‘tragically lost my beautiful big sister’.

The family appeared in a Sky documentary ‘This is Our Family’ calling for tougher sentences for dangerous drivers, in which they were followed by a camera crew for three years. 

Police are today probing how the car lay undiscovered for 48 hours off one of South Wales’ busiest roads, with two people alive and three dead among them. 

Firefighters were seen carrying stretchers and cutting equipment towards the car yesterday.

The car was removed on a flatbed truck at lunchtime after a private ambulance arrived to carry away the dead. 

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