Town left in shock after lads killed in fireball as car smashes into house
TRIBUTES have been paid to four men who died after their car hit a house and exploded into a fireball.
Friends left cans of beer at the scene with the message: “Keep partying up there guys”, along with two football shirts and sunflowers bearing the initials of the victims.
Photographs of the four – named locally as Corey, Jordan, Matt and Ryan – were among floral bouquets.
Witnesses said the crash sounded like “a bomb going off” as the car came off a country road and slammed into the side of a house.
The victims were yelling: “Help us! Please get us out!”
But they were tragically trapped as flames quickly engulfed the vehicle in Derry Hill, near Calne, Wiltshire, around 3am on Sunday.
Retired builder Peter Connolly and wife Margaret, whose house was damaged in the crash, were joined by neighbours in a vain attempt to rescue the four young men.
But the fire was too intense and the men died at the scene, said police.
Mr Connolly said: “I’d just nodded off when there was a sound like a bomb going off. It made the whole house rattle and shake.
Flames
“I was sleeping just four feet from where the car struck the house.”
Windows in an upstairs window and sitting room below were blown out as the car hit the house.
He said his wrist watch stopped at the exact moment of impact.
Neighbour Ada Walker said the four men were unable to free themselves and residents could not get close enough due to the flames. She said: “They did everything they could but the flames were just too hot.”
Police and firefighters were on the scene quickly and the blaze was soon extinguished.
All four victims were from the Calne area. It is understood they were former pupils of Kingsbury Green Academy.
Councillor Robert Merrick said: “We have lost four young men from Calne in a tragic car accident at the start of their lives. It is devastating.
“My thoughts are with the families and their friends at this time.
“The community of Calne will come together once again to help you and your families at this time.
“I am so deeply, deeply sorry.” Inspector James Brain, of Wiltshire Police, said inquiries into the cause of the crash were ongoing people not to speculate.
He said: “Calne is a small, tightknit community and I know that this tragedy will have had a huge impact on those living in the town, particularly those who knew the four who lost their lives.”
The tragedy is likely to prompt calls for greater speed restrictions in the area. Parish council vice-chairman Jim Cook said the speed limits were “really not conducive to safe driving” because they suddenly reduced from 60mph to 40mph as motorists entered Derry Hill village. and urged