Police interview mother over four-death reservoir crash horror

A WOMAN who survived a crash that killed her husband, mother and two foster sons when their car plunged into a reservoir in mid- Wales has been speaking to police about the tragedy.

Denise Griffith, 55, was meeting officers yesterday, having been too upset to be formally interviewed by police following the incident in which her vehicle was apparently “clipped” by another car and sent careering off the road.

A 23-year-old man arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving has been named by sources as Gordon Dyche.

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Dyche, from the Llanidloes area of mid-Wales, was driving a Ford Mondeo which has been held by police for examination.

He was released on police bail as detectives continued their investigation.

A Dyfed Powys Police spokesman said: “Denise will be spoken to this morning. Because of what she’s been through, it won’t be like a normal interview.”

Regular churchgoer Mrs Griffith refused to leave the crash site in mid-Wales following the tragedy on Wednesday until her family’s bodies had been recovered from the submerged vehicle and was said to be “deeply traumatised”.

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She had been at the wheel of the Peugeot 807 when it careered off a the picturesque B4518 and into the water during the family’s Easter holiday.

Although she managed to escaped and raised the alarm, her husband Emyr Glyn Griffith, 66, mother Phyllis Iris Hooper, 84, and her foster sons Peter Briscome, and Liam Govier, both 14, all died at Bwlch y Gle Dam, Clywedog, in Llanidloes.

The family, from Pontypridd, near Cardiff, had been holidaying together in the Machynlleth area.

Detectives took advantage of yesterday’s good weather conditions to investigate the site, the police spokesman said.

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Neighbour John Davies, in Barry Road, Pontypridd, where the family lived said the local community would rally to support Mrs Griffith.

“This is the sort of place where people still look after you. We will all make sure that Denise is OK and ensure she has the support she needs.”

Gareth Morgan, a Powys county councillor representing the Llanidloes area, spoke of the shock people are feeling at the deaths.

“This has touched people on many levels even though they were not from the area,” he said.

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“A place like Llanidloes is very small, close-knit and people have been deeply saddened by the deaths.

“It is a great tragedy to have four people wiped out in this terrible way and for the driver to be left without her husband, mother and teenage foster boys.”

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