The driver of the car in which the band Viola Beach plunged to their deaths ‘probably acted intentionally’, according to Swedish police.
New video footage of the incident shows the band’s car coming to a near halt behind a lane of cars waiting for the bridge barriers to open, then swerving out onto the hard shoulder, crashing through the barriers and accelerating towards the bridge.
All four members of the band and their manager were killed in the crash last month, after their car plummeted 80ft into a canal near Stockholm.
Kjell Lindgren from the Stockholm Police, explained: “The driver overtook parked vehicles, using an off-limits part of the bridge.
“It’s not natural to carry on driving if there’s a stop sign, parked cars and blinking red lights.”
Lars Berglund, who is leading the Swedish police’s investigation into the accident, told Sweden’s Aftonbladet newspaper that he believed the band were killed at the point when their hired Nissan collided with the bridge.
“As far as I can see, most of had already been killed up there on the bridge,” he said. “It looks like the driver was acting intentionally.”
Viola Beach, from Warrington, Cheshire, were made up of four friends, guitarist and vocalist Kristian Leonard, 20, guitarist River Reeves, 19, bassist Tomas Lowe, 27, and drummer Jack Dakin, 19.
Manager Craig Tarry, 32, was the fifth person in the hire car.
Following the accident, the family of River Reeves said they were "heartbroken" after hearing of his death. The family of the band's manager Tarry said they were "devastated", adding they are "grieving the loss of their son and also for the other families involved in this tragic accident".
A week after the incident, the band’s single ‘Swings & Waterslides’ reached No.1 on the iTunes chart following a social media campaign backed by Liam Gallagher and Tim Burgess from The Charlatans.
All proceeds from sales of the single went to the band and manager’s families.
