Police watchdog to assess if independent inquiry is needed into fatal crash in Ely

Two teenagers died on Monday evening

Cars were set alight and missiles thrown at police in Ely, Cardiff
Author: Lauren JonesPublished 24th May 2023
Last updated 24th May 2023

The police watchdog says it'll look into whether an independent investigation is needed after a crash in Cardiff that killed two teenagers.

The victims - named locally as 16 year old Kyrees Sullivan and Harvey Evans who was 15 - were riding an electric bike when they died, sparking a riot in the Ely on Monday night.

Fireworks and other missiles were thrown at police and cars were set alight.

South Wales Police say officers hadn't been pursuing the pair and only attended the scene after the collision took place but yesterday CCTV footage taken from near the crash site shows a police van following them.

South Wales Police released an updated statement regarding this yesterday.

It said: "We have received CCTV footage which shows a police vehicle following a bike just prior to 6pm.

"This footage is being recovered as part of the investigation which will assist us in piecing together the circumstances leading up to the collision. The families are being kept up to date.

"We can confirm that following investigations carried out so far, that when then collision occurred, there were no police vehicles on Snowden Road.

"A police vehicle in Grand Avenue responded to the report of a collision, attended the area and the officers performed CPR.

"The investigation has involved studying CCTV and tracking data from the police vehicle.

"At this stage, we do not believe that any other vehicle was involved.

"During the disorder, 15 officers were injured requiring medical attention. 11 went to hospital, 4 were treated at the scene.

"Our focus now is to fully investigate the circumstances of the collision and the appalling scenes that followed.

"We are appealing for witnesses, information, and footage from mobile phones and social media."

The force has referred itself to the IOPC.

Hear the latest news on Downtown on FM, DAB, smart speaker or the Rayo app.