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| Viola Beach crash may have been deliberate, Swedish police say | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Swedish police investigating the death of four members of the British indie band Viola Beach and their manager after their car plunged off a bridge into a canal are looking into the possibility that the crash was deliberate, according to a Swedish newspaper report. | Swedish police investigating the death of four members of the British indie band Viola Beach and their manager after their car plunged off a bridge into a canal are looking into the possibility that the crash was deliberate, according to a Swedish newspaper report. |
| Aftonbladet said it had viewed CCTV footage of what happened on the bridge in Södertälje on 13 February. A video reconstruction of the footage, produced by the newspaper, shows the band’s Nissan Qashqai pull to a halt behind other cars waiting at a barrier, which was in place because part of the bridge had been raised to allow an oil tanker to pass through. | Aftonbladet said it had viewed CCTV footage of what happened on the bridge in Södertälje on 13 February. A video reconstruction of the footage, produced by the newspaper, shows the band’s Nissan Qashqai pull to a halt behind other cars waiting at a barrier, which was in place because part of the bridge had been raised to allow an oil tanker to pass through. |
| The reconstruction shows the band’s car pull past two other vehicles on the hard shoulder before crashing through the barrier. The car then disappears from view of the CCTV cameras, Aftonbladet said. | The reconstruction shows the band’s car pull past two other vehicles on the hard shoulder before crashing through the barrier. The car then disappears from view of the CCTV cameras, Aftonbladet said. |
| The warning lights and barriers were clearly visible and the rented car was almost new and had no apparent faults, Lars Berglund, one of the police officers investigating the case, told the newspaper. | The warning lights and barriers were clearly visible and the rented car was almost new and had no apparent faults, Lars Berglund, one of the police officers investigating the case, told the newspaper. |
| “We can’t find any secondary explanation,” he was quoted as saying. “It looked like the driver acted deliberately.” | “We can’t find any secondary explanation,” he was quoted as saying. “It looked like the driver acted deliberately.” |
| The car accelerated through another barrier and struck the part-raised bridge before plunging 30 metres into the water. Berglund said the initial impact could have killed some or all of those inside. | The car accelerated through another barrier and struck the part-raised bridge before plunging 30 metres into the water. Berglund said the initial impact could have killed some or all of those inside. |
| Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe, Jack Dakin and manager Craig Tarry, aged between 19 and 35, were on their way back to an airport hotel after the band had played at a music festival, their first-ever foreign gig. | Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe, Jack Dakin and manager Craig Tarry, aged between 19 and 35, were on their way back to an airport hotel after the band had played at a music festival, their first-ever foreign gig. |
| Last month Swedish police said the driver of the car – they have not said who this was – had no trace of alcohol or drugs in his blood, according to preliminary results. | Last month Swedish police said the driver of the car – they have not said who this was – had no trace of alcohol or drugs in his blood, according to preliminary results. |
| Aftonbladet also spoke to the man whose car was first in the queue at the initial barrier. Kent Uddén said the driver of the band’s car pulled past him on the left like “a maniac”, almost hitting his car, before driving through both sets of barriers. | Aftonbladet also spoke to the man whose car was first in the queue at the initial barrier. Kent Uddén said the driver of the band’s car pulled past him on the left like “a maniac”, almost hitting his car, before driving through both sets of barriers. |
| “All I heard then inside the car was a muffled bang. It was hard to understand what had happened, it was all so surreal,” he was quoted as saying. | “All I heard then inside the car was a muffled bang. It was hard to understand what had happened, it was all so surreal,” he was quoted as saying. |