My daughter was hospitalised & her 3 pals killed in a horror crash… if police had been quicker they would still be alive
A MUM whose teen daughter was hospitalised by a horror crash that killed three has claimed that they would still be alive if cops acted faster.
The wreckage of the car lay undiscovered for nearly 48 hours and Sophie Russon, 20, was lucky to escape with her life.
But Sophie’s mum, Anna Certowicz, has slammed Gwent Police, saying that they were to slow to react and ignored reports that her daughter was missing along with three pals.
Darcy Ross, 21, Eve Smith, 20, and driver Rafel Jeanna, 24, were all found dead at the scene in Cardiff, Wales, just after midnight on March 6.
Fellow passenger Shane Laughlin, 32, is in hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The fatal smash is understood to have taken place in the early hours of March 4.
Anna, 40, told : “If they got there sooner, we don’t know, but maybe they could have survived.
“The police did not do enough – it wasn’t until people started posting on social media that they paid us any attention.
“They had calls from me, Sophie’s dad and all the other families, but they were very blasé and said they’re probably out partying.”
The fuming mum added: “There were 100 of us, knocking on doors, searching country lanes with torches – we were desperate.
“My girls are so close – they spend all their time together and are always talking on Snapchat, so when the messages stopped, we knew something bad had happened.
“Sophie is good as gold. She’s always messaging to let us know she’s OK.”
Anna explained that the alarm was raised when Sophie uncharacteristically failed to show up for work the next day.
She claimed that she had told the police that is was extremely unusual for her daughter to miss a shift and pleaded with them to launch a search effort.
Indeed, Gwent Police received three missing persons reports related to the case between 7.34pm and 9.32pm on March 4.
South Wales Police also received a report at 5.37pm the next day.
A police helicopter was requested more than five hours later, at 11.50pm, before the car was discovered at 12.15am on March 6.
Sophie was found with bruising on her brain and a build-up of fluid inside her skull, which required a 14-hour surgery to drain.
She also suffered a broken arm and multiple fractures to her legs an now requires a back brace to make sure the injuries heal properly.
Anna claimed that the police left the families at the scene for two hours without an update before delivering the awful news in front of a crowd of onlookers.
She added that their handling of the case was “appalling” and said: “They didn’t section anything off or give the families somewhere private…There was nobody to reassure us, no family liaison officer.”
The Independent Office for Police Conduct is probing Gwent Police’s handling of the crash.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hobrough said: “Our thoughts remain with the families and friends of those who sadly lost their lives, and to those who have been injured.
“We promptly referred to this case to Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), in line with normal procedures, and the IOPC has subsequently confirmed it will be investigating.
“We understand how distressing it is when a loved one goes missing and are aware of concerns raised around police actions.
“The IOPC has outlined that it will be examining Gwent Police’s response in this case and while they are investigating, we are unable to comment further.
“We have been and will continue to co-operate fully with the investigation. We recognise that there is a high level of concern in our community, and we appreciate their patience in allowing the IOPC to conduct their investigation fully.”
