Photo: Press
A day-long inquest into the tragic deaths of up-and-coming indie band Viola Beach and their manager Craig Tarry happened in Warrington Town Hall today.
The Warrington-based group, who just appeared at a Swedish festival, were 18 miles from Stockholm when the Nissan Qashqai they were driving plunged through a gap in the bridge, when it opened to let a bus pass beneath.
Close friends and family of the five victims bravely gathered in hope of finding more answers but according to The Warrington Guardian frustrations were high as concerns were raised about things for which there was a lack of evidence.
Ben Dunne, father of River Reeves, questioned whether the bridge needed to be opened as police uncovered their findings. The newspaper also claims there were concerns about the height and visibility of signs and the lack of written warning about the moving bridge.
Meanwhile, the Coroner said he doesn't think it will ever be known what caused their deaths.
Cheshire Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg said: "It's not for me to speculate... I don't think it ever will be known what happened." He added that "the evidence did not reveal the cause of sequence of events" that led to their deaths.
Chief reporter at Warrington Guardian, Lauren Hirst, was currently reporting from the inquest via Twitter.
She revealed: "Toxicology examinations revealed no evidence of drugs and a small amount of alcohol consumed by Jack, River, Tomas and Kris. No drugs or alcohol were found following a toxicology examination into Craig Tarry.. Band manager Craig Tarry was driving the car at the time of the crash. It was reported he was driving in a 'controlled manner',"
Hirst added that "Tragic footage captured of the moments leading up to the crash as the car travelled along the motorway has been played."
Reflecting what the images will have shown, the BBC revealed that the car was slightly over the speed limit as it was travelling at 108km/h (67mph) in a 100km/h zone.
Flashing lights signalled that the bridge above the canal, was about to be raised. Manager Craig Tarry drove down past stationary queuing traffic and through the first set of barriers, about 120 metres from the bridge, the court heard.
The car then travelled in a "controlled manner" at between 70 and 90km/h down the centre of the road before going through a second set of barriers which were 30 metres from the drop into the canal. It hit the raised section of the bridge before falling 25m, hitting the water within 15 seconds.
The tragedy shook the nation and the posthumous support has been gracious. The band got a number one album after a campaign was launched to get everyone behind it.
Post-mortem examinations discovered that all died from head injuries apart from Tomas Lowe whose cause of death was given as drowning.
Mr. Rheinberg said "none of the young men will have suffered" as they died.
Our thoughts go out to the relatives of Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe, Jack Dakin, and Craig Tarry as they bravely face these harrowing details.
The way the country responded to their deaths has been beautifully supportive. The band had a posthumous number one album, Coldplay paid tribute to them during their headline Glastonbury set, and other bands on the scene with them such as Blossoms have been incredibly supportive.
More news from the inquest will follow later today.
