Police have apologized to the family of the man killed in a train collision in Wales

A police force has apologized to the family of a man killed in a collision between two trains in mid Wales.

David Tudor Evans, 66, died after two Transport for Wales (TfW) trains collided head-on at Talerddig, near Llanbrynmair in Powys, at 7.26pm on October 21.

Now a close family friend has accused the British Transport Police (BTP) – which is investigating the incident – ​​of failing to support the family, with the force issuing an apology on Thursday.

Speaking to the PA news agency, the family friend said: “The fact is that on the night in question she (Rachel Evans, Mr Evans’ wife) was virtually left to fend for herself, not enough support was provided on time.”

On October 22, police released a statement saying: “The deceased’s next of kin have been informed and his family are being supported by specialist officers.”

But a specialist officer from the BTP did not visit the family until October 23.

The friend also said the family also objected to media reports suggesting the cause of death.

“Currently, news media are reporting that the cause of death was not related to the collision without any evidence,” he said.

“The opening of the inquest was yesterday and the cause of death is still undetermined.”

BTP Chief Inspector Andrew Morgan apologized for their earlier statement.

He said: “We would like to apologize for a miscommunication that occurred shortly after the train collision that occurred on Monday, October 21 in Llanbrynmair.

“The British Transport Police have apologized directly to the family of the deceased in relation to this statement and would like to publicly apologize for any additional suffering caused at this extremely difficult time.”

Ceredigion assistant coroner Louisa Corcoran opened an inquest into his death at Aberystwyth Justice Center on Wednesday.

She said a post-mortem examination was underway and suspended the inquest while the police investigation was ongoing.

Four other people were seriously injured during the incident, and a further eleven suffered injuries requiring hospital treatment.

Investigators from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) suspected the incident was caused by slippery rails.

The RAIB has said that the condition of the track approaching the point of impact meant that the “adhesion” between the wheels and the rails was “relatively low”.

This suggested that an Aberystwyth-bound train may have slipped while braking, causing it to collide with a stationary Shrewsbury-bound train at around 15mph.