- Music
- 07 Dec 16
Band manager Craig Tarry was at the wheel of the car when it crashed and fell 80 feet into frozen waters last February.
On February 13, 2016, the English indie-rock group met their fate when their band manager drove the car through two crash barriers and over the Södertälje canal bridge. A recent inquest confirms that the members did not suffer after the accident, and that the true cause of the crash will never be fully understood.
The 32-year-old manager was taking the four-piece band back to their hotel after playing at a festival in Norkopping, Sweden. Subsequently, Tarry died along with Kris Leonard, 19, River Reeves, 19, Tomas Lowe, 27, and Jack Dakin, 19. Those who witnessed the crash said the car clipped the wing mirror of a taxi, hit two crash barriers, and whammed into the bridge at 50mph, despite warnings that the bridge was up. No witnesses saw any signs of brake lights or stopping the vehicle.
CCTV footage showed the Nissan stopping behind other cars at the barrier, but then it nudged past the vehicles on the shoulder before it continued to speed up and fall into the canal. Nonetheless, the driver produced no signs of drugs or alcohol in his body, signalling out the possibility of intoxicated driving.
BBC North of England Correspondent, Judith Mortiz, tweets about the recent updates on the Viola Beach tragedy:
Coroner: "The evidence did not reveal the cause of sequence of events which lead to the deaths" of Viola Beach and their manager. #BBCNews pic.twitter.com/Tzekge8HoT
— Judith Moritz (@JudithMoritz) December 7, 2016
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Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg concludes Jack Dakin and Kris Leonard died as result of head injuries #BBCNews
— Judith Moritz (@JudithMoritz) December 7, 2016
Coroner records that members of Viola Beach and their manager died 'as a result of a road traffic collision' pic.twitter.com/VOlATxoiaP
— Judith Moritz (@JudithMoritz) December 7, 2016