A CORONER has opened the investigations into the deaths of three men who all tragically died in fatal car crashes in Gwent in the past two weeks

Area coroner Wendy Jones sitting at Gwent Coroners Court yesterday opened the investigations into the deaths of Robert Charles Smith, Ryan Griffiths and Robert Bell.

Robert Bell, 21, from Long Sutton in Somerset, was killed in a collision between four vehicles on the A4042 between Llanellen Bridge and the Hardwick Roundabout in Abergavenny on Monday. The crash involved two lorries, a blue Ford Focus and a Vauxhall Combo van at around 6.50pm.

Mr Bell, who had been driving the Ford Focus, was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other drivers were taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries while the driver of the fourth vehicle was not injured.

Also on Monday Robert Smith, 20, from Bridgend, was involved in a collision on the A449 near Usk on September 9 at just after 2pm, when the transit van he was travelling in collided with a lorry

These follow the fatal crash last Friday in which 11-year-old Harrison Marshall and 44-year-old Ryan Griffiths, both from Chepstow, were killed in a crash on the A466 Wye Valley Link Road.

The pair were travelling in separate cars at the time of the incident.

The investigation into Harrison’s death will be opened in Bristol.

The coroner released their bodies to their families and adjourned the inquest for three months to allow time for the police investigations.