Overcrowding may have caused fatal car crash

Police are investigating whether a car in which three 13-year-old boys were killed and four other boys were badly injured crashed because it was carrying too many passengers.

Police are investigating whether a car in which three 13-year-old boys were killed and four other boys were badly injured crashed because it was carrying too many passengers.

Officers are waiting to interview the middle-aged driver of the five-seat hatchback, which had the seven boys in it when she lost control. The vehicle slewed across a dual carriageway, crashed into another vehicle and caused a pile-up described by one police officer as "one of the worst I've seen". The 21-year-old driver of the other vehicle was also killed.

The accident happened on Saturday night as Angela Dublin, 45, at the wheel of the Citroën Xsara, was driving her son Anton and six of his friends to a restaurant for his 13th birthday. The vehicle spun out of control on the Oxford ring road, crossed the central reservation and crashed into a Honda Civic, killing its driver, Howard Hilson, a gym instructor.

Tests will be carried out today on the Civic and the Xsara, which was not the large, "people-carrier" Picasso model but the hatchback version with only five seats, and seatbelts, in total. "The lack of seatbelts is part of our investigation," said Inspector Steve Bridges. "What I would say is that everyone has a responsibility to make sure that not just themselves but their passengers are wearing seatbelts. We know how many people were in that particular car, the Citroën. That's one aspect we will be looking into, but in terms of any actual prosecution, it's much too early to say."

It has emerged that the road where the crash happened, known as the Eastern bypass, is the only part of the Oxford ring road that does not have a crash barrier along the central reservation. "This may certainly lead to a recommendation to the relevant authorities with regards to the introduction of a crash barrier," Insp Bridges said.

He added: "It's one of the worst I've ever seen in 23 years. We've got young people involved which is an unusual factor."

The four boys to have survived were in critical condition in hospital yesterday but two were showing signs of improvement.

Ms Dublin, who worked as a staff nurse at the John Radcliffe Hospital until about a year ago, was flown to the Great Western Hospital in Swindon, Wiltshire, where she was still unconscious late yesterday and in a critical condition.

Insp Bridges said: "When she wakes up we will be able to ask her version of what's happened here. The most important thing for us is to piece together what happened to help the grieving process for the families."

The three boys killed were Josh Bartlett, Liam Hastings and Marshall Haynes, all aged 13 and from Oxford. All were believed to have been keen footballers, with Marshall playing for Oxford City Colts. Some of the boys were members of the Florence Park Boys' Football Club.

Among the tributes left to Marshall at the crash scene was an England shirt marked: "Marsh, love you forever, Mum."

Family and friends of Liam Hastings were among those who visited the site to lay flowers. A pool cue was left as a tribute with the message: "Liam, God bless you darling. Love you loads, Nanny."

Mr Hillsdon, who was driving the Civic on the northbound carriageway when the Xsara crossed into his path, was a former engineering student at Oxford Brookes University. A tribute to him from staff at a local health club read: "The way you lived your life was an inspiration to us all."