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Daily Record
Daily Record
World
John Reynolds & Ryan Carroll

Woman left in crash wreck with dead pals for 48 hours now 'awake and talking'

A young woman who survived a car crash that killed three friends is now "awake and talking". Sophie Russon is recovering from life-saving surgery for a broken skull and brain bleed more than a month after the horror smash in Wales.

The 20-year-old bank worker is awake, eating and talking, according to her mum Anna Certowicz who has declared that "miracles do happen". As reported by the Mirror, Ms Certowicz, 42, has said: “She will be home before we know it.”

Sophie and four pals were heading to a nightclub in Newport when their Volkswagen Tiguan crashed into trees off the A48 in Cardiff at 2am and it took police two days to find the wreckage on March 6. Tragically Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 20, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, were found dead.

Eve Smith was declared dead at the scene of the crash in Cardiff (Media Wales)
Rafel Jeanne, 24, was declared dead at the scene (Wales Online)

Shane Loughlin, 32, and fellow survivor Sophie have been treated at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. Sophie's mum said that she was semi-conscious in the mangled car for two days calling for help.

At the time she said: “She’s in shock and has a lot of injuries. You can’t recognise her.” However, Ms Certowicz said her daughter was now reading Facebook messages wishing her well.

Darcy Ross was also among the victims (Wales Online)
Shane Loughlin survived the crash and was taken to hospital (Media Wales)

In one post, Ms Certowicz said: “Thank you all so much Sophie Russon can read all of this now and see all the love and kindness we’ve all received and we are all truly grateful and thank you from the bottom of our hearts.” Sophie replied to the post: “Thank you all so much”.

Her mother added: “Even though she hates me for making her have her injections sorry Sophie Russon but mummy Anna knows best.”

The mum now plans to take “the toughest girl in the world” and the rest of the family on a “nice holiday” as her “angels deserve a treat and something to look forward to”. Around 400 turned up to last week’s funeral of Rafel after hundreds attended a vigil at the crash site.

Quad bikes were adorned with blue ribbons in tribute while mourners lined the street. The remaining funerals are set to take place this month.

Police are being probed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

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