Gardaí in Co Cork have begun investigations into two separate road traffic collisions which have claimed the lives of a 51-year-old woman and a man in his early 30s and left a number of other people with serious injuries.
The first collision happened in the Gaeltacht village of Beal Atha’n Ghaorthaidh (Ballingeary) in Mid-Cork when a 51-year-old woman was fatally injured when a car struck a group of five pedestrians who were talking near the old forge in the centre of the village on the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The dead woman, who has been named locally as Gobnait Twomey, had been returning home with her sister, Caitriona (52) and her mother, Eibhlis, after attending the funeral earlier in the day of her uncle, Willie Twomey who had died on Sunday and been buried in Gougane Barra.
They encountered a local man, Kieran Lucey (37) and a friend who were returning from the funeral of Mr Lucey’s father, Seamus, who had also died on Sunday and had been buried in nearby Inchigeela before the mourners from that funeral also returned to Beal Atha’n Ghaorthaidh.
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The five were chatting by the forge as a car approached and Mr Lucey managed to push Eibhlis Twomey to safety before he was hit by the vehicle which also collided with Gobnait and Caitriona Twomey with Gobnait sustaining fatal injuries and Caitriona sustaining a broken arm and leg.
Gobnait was pronounced dead at the scene and her body was later removed to Cork University Hospital for a post-mortem while Caitriona and Mr Lucey were taken by ambulance to Cork University Hospital to be treated for their injuries.
The driver of the car, a 41-year-old local man, who also had been coming from Mr Lucey’s funeral, and a number of passengers in his car all emerged unscathed but gardaí arrested the man for dangerous driving causing death and conveyed him to Bandon Garda Station for questioning
Gardai closed the road, which is the R587 which links Macroom to Bantry and runs right through the centre of Beal Atha’n Ghaorthaidh and put diversions in place to allow a forensic crash investigator to examine the scene before the road re-opened shortly after 2pm.
Meanwhile, gardai have appealed for any witnesses to the collision or anyone who can assist them in their investigation to contact them at Macroom Garda Station on (026) 20590, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
Just 15 hours later at around 5pm Gardai in Millstreet, north of Macroom were called to the scene of another fatal road traffic crash when a car and a truck were in collision on the R583 which links Millstreet and Kanturk in North Cork.
It’s understood that the car and truck were in collision near the entrance to the former Drishane Convent and that the driver of the car, a local man in his early 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene while the driver of the truck was uninjured but badly shaken and treated for shock.
The two fatal collisions on Tuesday bring the number of road fatalities in the Macroom Garda District to three in five days and follow the death of 67-year-old pedestrian who was killed when she was struck by a truck while crossing Main St in Macroom at around 12.50pm last Friday.
The woman, Patricia Daly from Moneygaff East, Enniskeane in West Cork, suffered catastrophic injuries in the collision and was pronounced dead at the scene before her remains were later removed to Cork University Hospital for a post-mortem.
A widow and mother of one, Ms Daly was killed just over an hour before an 8km section of the €280 million Macroom to Ballyvourney By-pass was due to open to traffic following an official opening ceremony at 11am. She will be buried on Wednesday in her native Kilcrohane near Bantry.
