A father who drove his car into the River Avon with his two young children has been charged with attempted murder and remanded in custody. Christopher Grady appeared in court in Worcester today after the incident in Evesham, Worcestershire, on Thursday.
His children, Ryan, six, and Gabrielle, five, were rescued from the vehicle and airlifted to Birmingham Children's Hospital. Ryan was described as stable and sitting up in bed yesterday, while Gabrielle remains in a critical condition after spending two hours trapped in an air pocket underwater.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing the children's screams as the Vauxhall Vectra sped across a field at up to 50mph before plunging into the river at around 9.20am. Grady had collected the children from their mother's house to take them to school. He managed to escape the sinking car along with Ryan, but Gabrielle was trapped inside until police divers freed her.
Police defended the response time, noting that divers took 97 minutes to arrive and a further 12 minutes to extract Gabrielle. A West Mercia Police spokesman stated that only nine such dive teams exist in the UK, and the Avon and Somerset team was occupied elsewhere when the call came in.
Family friends described Grady as a troubled man with a history of alcohol and drug abuse. A friend of his former partner, Kim Wise, said she had argued with him about his heroin use that morning and wanted to separate. Grady also has three older children from a previous marriage.
The school attended by Ryan and Gabrielle, Swan Lane First School in Evesham, expressed shock and sadness, offering support to pupils and staff. The school will reopen as normal after the half-term break.
