A TEENAGER who attended Eton with Prince William died in a head-on car
crash yesterday that also killed his brother and two other people.
Oliver Broome, 19, who left
the school this summer, and
his 22-year-old brother, Giles,
were in a black BMW when it
collided with a Nissan carrying
an elderly couple from
Feltham, Middlesex. The
couple died in the crash and
the brothers' car hit a Halifax
estate agency office before
bursting into flames. The
building was destroyed by the
fire.
Last night, the boys' parents were understood to be returning from America
after apparently learning of the tragedy after failing to contact their two
children by telephone. The brothers are believed to have been returning from
a night out before the accident shortly after 5am.
John Ward, a council maintenance worker who was the first on the scene,
said the crash sounded like a bomb explosion. He said: "My wife and I were
woken by a loud bang and a flash that lit up the whole sky. I raced from my
house and I couldn't believe what I saw.
"A red car was a wreck in the middle of the road and a BMW was like a
fireball in the building. I went to a woman lying in the road but she was
obviously dead. I looked in the car and checked the pulse of the man there
but there was no sign of life. I tried to reach the BMW but the flames were so
hot I couldn't get near it."
A Thames Valley police spokesman confirmed that the BMW coupé was
travelling from the Bagshot area towards Egham when it spun out of control.
He said: "The BMW lost control around 50 metres before the Halifax. It then
hit the red hatchback Nissan which was propelled backwards 20 metres. The
BMW then collided with the building and the fire was started."
Oliver and Giles were described by friends yesterday as inseparable. Several
young people who knew them arrived at the scene of the accident, some in
tears.
One said: "Oliver had just finished at Eton and was about to go to university.
Giles had his own business and a flat. Their parents are away in America and
I think Ollie and Giles were on the way to the family home in Sunningdale
when this happened.
"They were both talented and clever. They were very popular with everyone
around here and we are all devastated. The way people who knew them have
been turning up here in tears shows how highly they were regarded. They
were great lads. It's a real tragedy and we're all going to miss them. They
were obviously very close. They were really popular."
Friends laid floral tributes at the scene of the accident last night. One card
read: "Ollie, you will always be a special part of me. Your brother loved you
so much. We all did. Love Henry." Another message, signed Kenny, read: "I
love you more than you will know and I will never ever forget you. Memories
always."
A third card said: "These two special lads Giles and Ollie. We will always be
sad for not having you here with us. Love always darlings."
John Lewis, the headmaster of Eton, confirmed that one of the dead young
men had been in the year above Prince William. He declined to comment
further because the victims had not been formally identified.