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Survivor of crash in Cardiff that killed three pays tribute to her 'beautiful' friends who died

Sophie Russon, 20, was one of two survivors of the horror crash in the Welsh capital last month that took the lives of Eve Smith, Darcy Ross and Rafel Jeanne.

Tomos Evans

Wales reporter

Monday 24 April 2023 11:15, UK

Darcy Ross, Sophie Russon and Eve Smith
Image: Sophie Russon (centre) has paid tribute to her friends Darcy Ross (left) and Eve Smith (right).
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One of the survivors of a crash in Cardiff last month that killed three people has paid tribute to her "beautiful" friends.

Sophie Russon, 20, posted a picture on social media of herself with Eve Smith, 21, and Darcy Ross, 21, with the caption "love you both so much".

She responded to comments on the picture by describing them as "the most beautiful girls".

Eve, Darcy and Rafel Jeanne, 24, were declared dead at the scene of the crash on the A48(M) near the St Mellons area of the city, while Sophie and Shane Loughlin, 32, survived.

They had been on a night out in The Muffler social club in Newport on Friday 3 March before they travelled nearly 40 miles to Trecco Bay caravan park in Porthcawl.

The group spent some time in a caravan there before they dropped off a sixth passenger and were last seen at about 2am on Saturday morning in the Pentwyn area of Cardiff.

Police say the crash happened at 2.03am.

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The scene in the St Mellons area of Cardiff where three people who disappeared on a night out have died in a road traffic accident. Two others who had also been reported missing have been transported to hospital with serious injuries. Sophie Russon, 20, Eve Smith, 21, and Darcy Ross, 21, who had made the trip from Porthcawl, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Shane Loughlin, 32, both from Cardiff, had last been seen in the city in the early hours of Saturday. Picture date: Monday March 6, 2023.
Image: The scene of the crash in the St Mellons area of Cardiff.

The victims of the crash failed to return home on Saturday evening, 4 March, and were reported missing by family members.

Gwent Police did not issue an appeal to find them until 11pm on the Sunday - more than 27 hours after they were reported missing.

The group and the Volkswagen Tiguan were found just after midnight on Monday 6 March.

The car had veered off a slip road towards a roundabout and ended up surrounded by trees and obscured from view.

Clockwise from top left: Darcy Ross, Shane Loughlin, Eve Smith, Sophie Russon, Rafel Jeanne
Image: Clockwise from top left: Darcy Ross, Shane Loughlin, Eve Smith, Sophie Russon, Rafel Jeanne

'Disappointed'

A vigil was held last month near the site of the crash in tribute to the victims, with balloons released and fireworks let off.

Gwent Police and South Wales Police are both under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) after criticism over the length of time it took to find the group.

Ffion Actie, the sister of Rafel, told Sky News at the vigil she felt "disappointed that maybe things weren't done sooner".

"The hardest thing is that this is such a busy area and the fact they were there so long. That is the worst part about it, thinking they were sat there injured. If it was sooner [they were found], who knows," she said.

Image: Flowers were laid at the scene of the crash and balloons released at a vigil held in tribute to the victims last month.

Read more:
How search for vehicle unfolded in Cardiff - as police face criticism
Man who found car was best friends with one of crash victims

Post-mortems carried out at the University Hospital of Wales did not provide a provisional cause of death, pending further investigation into histology and toxicology.

All five were discovered on 6 March - 46 hours after the crash happened.

Inquests into Eve, Darcy and Rafel's deaths were opened on 17 March and have been adjourned pending further investigation. No date has been set.

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