UK band Viola Beach killed in Swedish car crash

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http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35572838

The four members of British indie band Viola Beach and their manager have died in a car crash in Sweden.

Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe and Jack Dakin and manager Craig Tarry were killed when their car plunged more than 25m (82ft) from a highway bridge into a canal.

The accident happened in the early hours of Saturday near Stockholm.

What a tragedy. RIP guys.
 
Makes me so sad when that sort of thing happens, especially young people just starting out, so worrying.
My heart is truly broken for all the family, friends and fans of these young lads.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepag...er-car-plunges-80ft-into-canal-in-Sweden.html
VIO_2689396a.jpg
The indie group Viola Beach were on the way back from their set at Where’s the Music? festival in Stockholm and were due to play in Guildford, Surrey last night.

The cause of the accident is being investigated.

A chilling photo of 19-year-old guitarist River Reeves leaning against the car they are believed to have crashed in was posted on Facebook just hours before they died.

The photo is understood to have been taken after the group and their manager collected the car from a rental company at the airport.

finals_land1_2689714a.jpg
The final photo posted by Viola Beach on their band's Twitter page
 
[video=youtube;LrhRlCf_NJM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrhRlCf_NJM[/video]
Published on Nov 23, 2015

Viola Beach perform Boys That Sing in session at Maida Vale for BBC Music Introducing.
 
The bridge, at a junction between the E4 and the E20 motorways, in the Sodertalje area, 18 miles from Stockholm, has a middle section that rises directly upwards without tilting, leaving a gap that the Nissan Qashqai drove into, Swedish police said.

A barrier, 50m before the opening, has flashing lights and signs warning there is a bridge opening, the officer handling the case said.

Inspector Martin Bergholm said: "For some reason, the car drove through the barriers and crashed down into the canal."

Truck driver Jonny Alexandersson told the Stockholm-based news website Aftonbladet that he was behind two other stationary vehicles when the car drove past at "at least 70-80km/h (45-50mph)" as the warning lamps flashed and two barriers blocked the road.

He said he heard a loud bang when the car drove into one of the beams on the bridge, then it disappeared.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...d-after-car-plunges-off-bridge-in-Sweden.html
Insp Bergholm told Aftonbladet: “According to witness reports, there were no brake lights on the car so it seems like they simply missed that there was a bridge opening. The witnesses just saw a car beside them and kind of disappear. The only people who knew what went on inside the car are dead.”
 
Includes recovery operation video, one gets to see how this horrible event may have occurred.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/14/europe/uk-band-viola-beach-killed/index.html

160214160341-craig-tarry-exlarge-169.jpg
Viola Beach's manager Craig Tarry, left, is pictured with his father.

"Craig was a warm, loving person who had worked tirelessly to achieve success and follow his dreams within the music industry. He will be sadly missed by his family and his colleagues."

The Foreign Office also released a statement on behalf of the family of the band's guitarist, River Reeves.

"All River wanted to do was perform and entertain and to think that he will never make us laugh again with his ridiculous impressions and cheeky banter is beyond comprehension for all his family," it said.

"River had such talent and such humility, such charm and such innocence it seems so unfair that he can be taken so cruelly from us like this. We are so proud of him, not only for what he achieved in his short, beautiful life, but also what he was clearly destined to achieve."

The band's Facebook page lists the other band members' names as Kris Leonard, Tomas Lowe and Jack Dakin.

'Absolutely devastated'
 
All over the press today. I'd never heard of the band but the tributes to these lads suggest they were popular and had potential.

Seems the driver sped past queuing traffic, went through a barrier and straight off the bridge as it was raised to let a ship through, we'll probably never know what he was thinking. I've never seen a bridge that raises in that way, surprised there isn't a means of stopping anything going off the edge.

Very sad but fortunately they won't have known much about it and probably went out on a post-gig buzz. RIP lads.
 
Terrible tragedy young guys just at the start of living their dream. May they Rest in Peace.
 
Very sad. Saw them supporting another band not so long ago and they were very good. A great loss. I wonder what happened

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk
 
Awe...very sad to hear about this. What a tragedy. :rose:
 
Three members of Oregan band CounterFlux died in an auto accident today also their families must be devastated too. May they also rest in peace.

http://abc22now.com/news/local/three-people-killed-in-i-75-crash-were-members-of-local-band

They're actually from Ohio. The Oregon District is an artsy neighborhood in Dayton.

Here's their FB: https://www.facebook.com/CounterFluxitup

I didn't know the band but with Viola Beach's accident and then this... ugh. And this one is super upsetting to me because it was caused by a driver who was just jailed the previous day for DUI.... I can't stand drunk drivers.

http://fox8.com/2016/02/14/driver-in-dayton-crash-that-killed-5-had-dui-incident-hours-earlier/
 
They're actually from Ohio. The Oregon District is an artsy neighborhood in Dayton.

Here's their FB: https://www.facebook.com/CounterFluxitup

I didn't know the band but with Viola Beach's accident and then this... ugh. And this one is super upsetting to me because it was caused by a driver who was just jailed the previous day for DUI.... I can't stand drunk drivers.

http://fox8.com/2016/02/14/driver-in-dayton-crash-that-killed-5-had-dui-incident-hours-earlier/

Thanks for your post my apologies being from Scotland my knowledge of geography of the USA is very limited. I want to visit someday as I know people are very kind and it has amazing scenic sites to visit. I've not made it over yet due to my health issues.

It's tragic CounterFlux members were killed by a drunk driver I wish more could be done to tackle this issue. It's a pity they don't impound DUI arrestees vehicles for a long time period to help prevent repeat offending.
 
No harm, Gregjrichards! I hope you'll be able to visit someday. :)

I couldn't agree with you more about the drunk driving issue. People here seem to get away with a slap on the wrist too many times. They need to really be much much harsher on DUIs. The results are often too heartbreaking, as again this case shows. Four young people wiped out in the prime of their lives... so senseless. :(
 
Police admit vital CCTV evidence of the moment Viola Beach drove over the edge of a Swedish bridge has been lost… as it is claimed that warning signs were NOT working

Warning lights at bridge where Viola Beach's car plummeted 'not working'

Oil tanker may have crushed British indie band's car after it landed in canal

Crew reported seeing something fall from bridge, but still given OK to pass

All four members of Warrington-based band and the manager died in crash

Their car plunged 82ft from a bridge in Sodertalje, just south of Stockholm

Footage shows British band's last ever gig in Norrkoping on Friday night

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ar-crushed-huge-oil-tanker.html#ixzz40QLC7tiM
 
Swedish police have not confirmed whether the oil tanker was involved in the deaths of the British band and their manager, but sources told Aftonbladet the heavy vessel 'damaged' the black Nissan.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ar-crushed-huge-oil-tanker.html#ixzz40R5rzRsM
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook



HGV driver Jonny Alexandersson, 29, who saw the 2am horror south of Stockholm, Sweden, said yesterday: “It’s a death trap. You don’t see the red lights until too late. The bridge had risen 1½m. Their windscreen smashed into it, cutting the roof away. Then the car vanished.”

It sounds to me like the oil tanker passing probably had little to do with their death. They might well have been dead before hitting the water if the bridge crushed the roof and with the roof gone, anyone who was still breathing would have drowned in an instant.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepag...lights-were-faulty-at-Viola-Beach-bridge.html



It means the band were first alerted to the bridge just 70 metres away. Their rented Nissan ploughed through two barriers and hit the edge of the bridge as it was being raised to let a tanker through.

It meant the first warning the lads got were the red lights 70 metres from the crash. The hire car carrying the four band members and manager Craig Tarry — thought to have been driving — smashed through two barriers then hit the edge of the bridge as it was being raised and plunged 80ft into a canal.

Earlier it was reported that they didn't see the brake lights on the Nissan so I wonder if they were alerted at all, even by seeing the warning lights 70 m away. Lucky that everyone else managed to notice that there were barriers and a queue of stationary vehicles and a bit of bridge missing.

If "smashed through" or "ploughed through" two barriers means that they drove past the first barrier while it was down and it didn't serve as a warning to brake I wonder if the driver was in a condition to notice flashing lights either. At the distance of 130 m it would have given them time to slow down or stop completely before the gap.

02_17003042_24bb40_2694187a.jpg


The ambiguity or delay about the time that the authorities were called is very strange. Wouldn't you call the emergency number immediately if you just saw a car crash and vanish? Hope it's just some misunderstanding, someone had a clock that showed the wrong time or something.
 

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