Viola Beach post mortem: 'driver not under influence of drink or drugs'
Early indications are driver of the bands' car intoxicated.
Results from a preliminary post mortem examination into the deaths of
up-and-coming British band Viola Beach have revealed no trace of alcohol or drugs in the driver's blood.
The four-piece Warrington-based band of Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe and Jack Dakin, were killed alongside their manager Craig Tarry when their hire car plunged 25 metres off a bridge into a canal in Sweden.
Aged between 19 and 35 they were 18 miles from the capital Stockholm when the accident happened in the early hours of February 13. Since their deaths, preliminary post mortems have been carried out on the five Britons.
Stockholm Police spokeswoman, Carena Skagerlind, said: We can confirm that the very preliminary post mortem results show that the driver of the car had no trace of alcohol or drugs in the blood.''
She told the Press Association that for the moment they are not going to release any information on who was driving. More tests will be carried out in the coming weeks.
Officers were called to the incident at about 2.30am involving the hired Nissan Qashqai which had gone through a barrier of a bridge that had opened to let a boat pass underneath.
The barrier, 50 metres before the opening, had flashing lights and warning signs, the officer handling the case said earlier this month.
Viola Beach, who had featured on BBC Introducing, which showcases up-and-coming music artists, described themselves as an ''indie pop'' band.
Despite a recent fan-led campaign to get the band to number one as a way to pay tribute to the musicians, their song Swings & Waterslides, failed to break into the top 10 of the official singles chart.