SWEDISH police have moved quickly to clarify reports suggesting the crash which claimed the lives of Warrington band Viola Beach and their manager Craig Tarry was a deliberate act – saying they do not believe the crash driver “intended to kill himself or the band”.
One of the investigators, Lars Berglund was seeking to clarify earlier comments by police today (Thursday) that suggested some of the driver’s actions were deliberate.
Mr Berglund clarified the reports by stating that the driver’s “only intention was to avoid a crash”.
Reports in the national press report Mr Berglund as saying: “I have not suggested that [the driver]was doing this in order to kill himself or the band. I said he was making a move from the right lane to the left lane and that was not accidental.
“We can see the brake lights. His intention was to stop the car. But maybe his speed was too high and it was too late.”
Earlier, a Stockholm police spokesman said: “It looks like he [the driver]tried to drive past red lights, barriers.
“All the witnesses thought it looked like he was trying to drive past… there weren’t supposed to be cars on the left.
‘It is a possibility he deliberately crashed the car, but he may have misunderstood the signs.
“[It is] still subject to investigation and we are still waiting for results of technical investigation.”
CCTV footage of the start of the incident showed the band’s car stopping behind other cars at the barrier before squeezing past them on the hard shoulder of the road and through the first of the barriers.
The vehicle then went through another barrier at speed before striking the part-open bridge and dropping more than 80 ft into a canal.
Mr Berglund gave another possible explanation to a local paper, saying the driver of the Nissan Qashqai – who has not been specified by police – lost concentration while squeezing past the queueing cars.
“My theory is that he was inattentive for some reason, perhaps talking on a mobile phone or turning round to the others in the car, and he didn’t see the barrier in time,” Berglund said.
Damage to the first barrier and the car indicated the force of the initial impact could have knocked out the driver, the police officer said.
The fact the car slowed normally at first for the barrier queue meant the driver was not asleep, Berglund said, adding that there was no indication of any reason to want to cause a crash after a successful gig, the Warrington band’s first abroad.
Band members Tomas Lowe, Kris Leonard, River Reeves and Jack Dakin died along with manager Craig Tarry during the early hours of Saturday February 13, shortly after appearing at a music festival in Stockholm.
Initial reports have shown no trace of drink or drugs in the body of manager Craig, who, although still unconfirmed, was believed to have been driving.
Claims have also been made about faulty warning lights not working properly at the bridge where the accident took place – but these were dismissed by Swedish authorities. Crucially CCTV footage which could have shown the incident was not saved and auto deleted 24 hours after the accident.
The band had been due to play a sell out gig at the Pyramid on March 12 in front of 250 fans with a further concert scheduled at the Parr Hall later in the year.
Meanwhile a special sell out tribute concert in memory of the band will take place at the town’s Parr Hall on Saturday, April 2nd.
It will be hosted by BBC Radio 1’s Phil Taggart and be a celebration of their lives, with all funds raised being donated to their families.
An inquest into the deaths was opened and adjourned in Warrington last week, with coroner Nicholas Rheinberg praising the co-operation of the Swedish police.
Viola Beach
