The mother of a woman who survived a car crash has said her daughter is now “unrecognisable”. Sophie Russon, 20, has undergone life-saving surgery after fracturing her skull in the smash, leading to a bleed on the brain. Her mother Anna said “you can’t recognise” her daughter because of her injuries from the horror smash.

Anna Certowicz, 41, from Newport, said “you can’t recognise” her daughter due to the injuries she suffered in the crash.

Ms Certowicz told The Sun: “She had panic attacks throughout the night when she came round so they sedated her. She’s in shock and has a lot of injuries.”

The Volkswagen Tiguan the group was travelling in left the A48(M) in Cardiff and hit trees in the St Mellons area of the city.

Officers believe the car was involved in a collision and left the road, but further investigations are needed to establish the exact time.

The group had been to a social club in Maesglas, Newport, on Friday and are thought to have then travelled 40 miles to the Trecco Bay area of Porthcawl. After failing to go home, the five were reported missing by their families.

Hundreds of people took part in searches, with Gwent Police not issuing a public appeal for help until 11pm on Sunday.

Lewis Pace, 26, and his father Matthew, 45, said they were searching for the missing youngsters when they saw tyre tracks across grass at a roundabout.

They told Sky News they investigated and found the Volkswagen Tiguan wedged behind trees.

Lewis was close friends with Mr Jeanne. He told Sky News: “As soon as they were reported missing they should have been out there looking for them, at the end of the day they were missing so there should have been a search there and then.”

He added: “When I saw them skid marks, obviously I was praying that it was nothing to do with it and it turns out it was, but the police were searching literally next to where we found it and anyway the helicopter was in the sky, so I don’t know how it wasn’t found quicker.”

The first call reporting the victims as missing was made to police at 7.34pm on Saturday, while further reports were made up until 5.37pm on Sunday.

In a joint statement, Gwent Police and South Wales Police said a helicopter was asked to search an area of Cardiff at 11.50pm on Sunday.

The forces added Gwent Police officers on the ground had sight of the car at 12.02am on Monday and South Wales Police created a log at 12.15am.

Both forces have said they referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

David Ford, IOPC director, said: “After careful assessment of referrals from Gwent Police and South Wales Police, we have decided to independently investigate how police responded to the missing person reports.

“We will be examining what information police had, the grading given to any risk assessments and the steps taken by police to locate the missing people prior to the Volkswagen Tiguan being found just after midnight on Monday.

“We will also consider what communication took place between the two forces and whether police action was appropriate and followed relevant policy and procedures.”

More to follow…

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