The wreckage of a car in which two teenagers died was spotted seven hours after the vehicle crashed into trees at the side of a busy main road in Hampshire.
Police believe the crash happened at 10.30pm on Tuesday, but the white Fiat 500 was spotted and reported by a passing motorist at 5am on Wednesday morning.
Ella Alford and her friend Aimee Clayton, both 18, were pronounced dead at the scene.
Hampshire constabulary said it was impossible to say whether the teenagers’ lives could have been saved if the crash had been reported earlier.
The force appealed for information from other motorists on the road at the time of the incident, particularly anyone with a dashcam recorder.
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Alford and Clayton were due to sit A-levels at Peter Symonds college in Winchester. Its principal, Stephen Carville, said: “We are deeply saddened to hear of the loss of two of our students. They both had such bright futures ahead of them.
“We will be doing our very best to support our students. In time, we will talk to the students and parents about the best way we can celebrate the lives of these girls and find some way of creating a lasting memorial.”
Pupils said the two had been close friends since secondary school, and that there were tears in class as the news spread. Floral tributes were left at the crash site by friends and classmates.
One message, signed Alex, read: “Aimee, I want to thank you for the time we spent together. One of the most amazing, beautiful and loving friends.”
The crash happened on the eastbound stretch of the A30, near Clayton’s home at Hook. Specialist investigators were picking through the wreckage on Thursday to try to determine the cause of the crash.
Sgt Andy Noble of Hampshire police said on Thursday: “Our investigations have narrowed down the time of the collision and we believe it happened at about 10.35pm on Tuesday evening.
“We had a great response from the public following our appeal yesterday for help … Now that we have a more precise time, I would urge anyone who was travelling along that road at around 10.35pm to contact us because they could have information that could assist our investigation.”
On social media, local road users said it was a dangerous stretch where there had been many accidents, with speed limits rapidly changing from 50mph to 30mph.
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