Man who found best friend dead in Cardiff car crash slams police for not finding victims sooner

26-year-old Lewis Pace, Rafel Jeanne’s friend, says he located the crashed vehicle shortly after midnight on Sunday morning

The friend of a young man killed in a car crash near Cardiff on Sunday has criticised police over claims they failed to find the victims.

Matthew Pace, 45, and his 26-year-old son Lewis told Sky News that the police should have started looking for the missing passengers sooner.

The father and son - who said he was “best friends” with 24-year-old victim Rafel Jeanne - claim they located the car shortly after midnight on Sunday morning, crashed in a wooded area along the A48.

The police arrived “about a minute” after Mr Pace and his father found the vehicle, they said.

“The minute they were reported missing, surely they should have been looking, searching”, Mr Pace told Sky News. “I thought they’d have been looking all day Saturday.”

Mr Pace added that he is “devastated”, recalling that the two had been friends for years “through football.”

“We were very very close, we did most things together. He’s just hilarious, honestly best way to describe him is just funny, like he’s always up for a laugh…I just miss him already”, he added.

Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, and Mr Jeanne, 24, died in the accident while Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, survived but remain in a critical condition, according to police.

In a statement, Gwent Police said the force was requested to search an area of Cardiff at 11.50pm on Sunday which resulted in a vehicle being located in a wooded area off the A48.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has confirmed that it is “urgently carrying out an assessment” having received a referral from both Gwent Police and South Wales Police on Monday.

All five were in a Volkswagen Tiguan that came off the A48(M) in Cardiff and crashed into trees, last seen in Cardiff at around 2am on Saturday. They lay undiscovered for up to 46 hours before they were found.

All five passengers were reported missing by their families.

Map showing the route taken by the group on the night of the crash (The Independent via Google Maps)

Tamzin Samuels, a friend of the victims, also criticised police - claiming that the force could have issued helicopters “earlier”, noting that it was a search party that located their friends before the police even arrived.

“I do think the police could have done a lot more in putting the helicopters out earlier. They posted the appeal an hour before the girls were found”, Ms Samuels told reports at the scene.

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

Wreckage removed from fatal car crash near Cardiff which left three dead and two injured (PA)

A mother of one of the victims has also spoken out about being told to “stop calling” the police station for updates after her daughter went missing. Anna Certowicz, Ms Russon’s mother, alleged that she had to drive to Cardiff “to knock on doors myself.”

“They just didn’t seem to think it was worth investigating. It was so frustrating”, Ms Certowicz told the Daily Mail.

Tributes have been paid to the victims by families and friends, with a friend of Ms Ross and Ms Smith sharing their grief via a social media post. They describe being “lost for words.”

“Darcy Ross I’m going to miss you little gypsy girl. You were one of a kind, I’m going to miss trying to ‘life coach’ you as you would’ve said. You were a real ray of sunshine especially on my bad days”, the message read.

“Eve Smith you were truly a beautiful young girl, who’s heart was made of gold just like your sister’s, give her a big hug for me and hold each other tight until the day we all have our turn and reunite.”