Viola Beach bridge plunge mystery: Driver of tragic band's car 'not asleep or drunk'

INVESTIGATORS do not think the mystery driver of Viola Beach's crashed car was "asleep or intoxicated on drink or drugs".

    MYSTERY: Driver of Viola Beach car 'not asleep or intoxicated', authorities say

The initial probe into the Sweden disaster which killed all four of the band's members and manager Craig Tarry did not rule out the possibility the driver – who has not been identified – had been drinking. 

But autopsy results indicate the driver had not been drinking, while the fact it slowed before reaching the bridge suggests the driver was awake.

Police saying the cause of the Valentine's Day horror is still "inexplicable". 

Warrington's Viola Beach were on the way to the airport after a gig in Sweden when they plunged 80ft off a bridge which had been raised to allow a ship to pass.

Kris Leonard, 20, River Reeves, 19, Jack Dakin, Tomas Lowe, 27, and manager Craig Tarry were all killed shortly after the band's first ever international gig. 

Reports suggest an oil tanker crushed the band's hired Nissan Qashqai car shortly after it hit the water, although investigators have said it appears the men were killed by the impact with the water.

    TRAGIC: Viola Beach was wiped out on the way to the airport

Witnesses describe seeing the car plough through safety barriers before "disappearing".

Police investigator Lars Berglund said: "We have no analytical results show that the driver would have been affected.

"At a later stage, after thorough testing, the analysis may show something else. But the moment has not been found either alcohol or drugs.

"Had they found high concentrations it would have been a different position but now we can not say with certainty that he was under the influence.

"It is still an open question. We have been able to see that the car slowed down before reaching the bridge.

"This allows us to exclude the possibility that the driver fell asleep. But what has actually happened is completely inexplicable. Right now there is no hypothesis."

Authorities do not have CCTV of the crash because of faulty cameras, according to reports.

Top artists, including Liam Gallagher and Leicester band Kasabian, have backed a campaign to propel Viola Beach's single Swings and Waterslides to number one in the UK's official charts.