Sombre air as floral tributes mount up

There was a sombre air around Stonegate Road yesterday as investigations continued into how five people died when a stolen car crashed into a tree on Saturday night.
By The Newsroom
Published 28th Nov 2017, 06:59 BST
A woman, thought to be the mother of one of the victims, looks at floral tributes close to the scene of a car crash in Stonegate Road, Leeds, that claimed the lives of five people, including three children. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday November 27, 2017. See PA story POLICE Leeds. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA WireA woman, thought to be the mother of one of the victims, looks at floral tributes close to the scene of a car crash in Stonegate Road, Leeds, that claimed the lives of five people, including three children. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday November 27, 2017. See PA story POLICE Leeds. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire
A woman, thought to be the mother of one of the victims, looks at floral tributes close to the scene of a car crash in Stonegate Road, Leeds, that claimed the lives of five people, including three children. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday November 27, 2017. See PA story POLICE Leeds. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire

As residents and locals walked and drove by, going about their daily business on a dreary and cold Monday morning, the enormity of the devastation resulting from Saturday night’s incident was tangible in the air.

Police officers in a group of four paced a distance of around 50 yards to and from the tree where the stolen Renault Clio came to rest after hitting it.

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They scoured the pavement and grass verges for clues and debris while colleagues searched the gardens of the pairs of semi-detached houses which are just yards away.

On the other side of the road floral tributes lined the edge of the pavement as a steady stream of locals, friends and family members of the deceased - visibly shocked and shaken by the tragedy - came to the scene to pay their respects.

Among them was a grieving mum whose son is believed to have been one of five people killed. She was allowed through the police cordon and placed her hand on the tree before being comforted by a younger man who was with her.

Candles had been left at the scene from a vigil on Sunday night and a single blue balloon in the shape of a star fluttered in the winter November wind.

Charlene Lee, a cousin of the mother of brothers Ellis and Elliott, said: “It’s just heartbreaking, isn’t it?

“The thought of losing one child ... but she’s lost two. It’s just devastating.”