Major Crime Probe Into Torquay Fatal Crash

A major crime investigation team is looking into whether a driver smashed his car into a young family's vehicle on purpose.

The officers, along with a serious collision investigation unit, have been given the task after police chiefs said it appeared the black Vectra driven by a Polish man swerved into the path of the other car.

The crash in Torquay, Devon, which killed a two-year-old boy and his unborn sibling and left their parents badly injured, was witnessed by a police officer.

Relatives of the Irish couple who were critically hurt have flown to the UK to be at their bedside as they recover in hospital.

Con Twomey and his wife Elber have both undergone surgery following the head-on crash in their Volkswagen Golf on Friday. They are said to be in a critical condition. Their son Oisin and unborn child did not survive.

The driver of the black Vauxhall Vectra, a Polish man in his 20s, was arrested at the scene but later died.

The Twomey family, from County Cork, were on holiday when the crash happened in Torquay on Friday afternoon.

It is understood they had only recently built their dream home, a bungalow outside the village of Meelin.

Sunday prayers were being said for the family at Mass services in their parishes.

The road was closed for more than 10 hours following the crash while the vehicles were recovered and forensic examinations took place.

Devon and Cornwall's Assistant Chief Constable Paul Netherton said: "It was a head-on collision at speed.

"The black Vectra was coming down the hill and appears to have swerved into the path of the oncoming car."

He added that adverse weather conditions did not contribute to the cause of the collision.

The police witness was not pursuing the vehicles at the time but the case has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission as a matter of course 

Any witnesses are asked to call police on 101 and quote log 0405 of July 6.