A father of four and his mother-in-law were among four people who died in two road crashes in Co Tyrone on Monday.
Patrick Rogers (26) from Cookstown and his 52-year-old mother-in-law, Mary Duffy, from Dungannon, were killed when the red Nissan X-Trail he was driving was in collision with another vehicle in the Dungannon Road area of Cookstown at about 3.30pm.
An 80-year-old woman, who was the driver of the other vehicle, also died.
About two hours earlier, a fourth victim, named locally as Imelda Quinn, was killed in a separate one-vehicle crash on the M1 near Dungannon.
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The nurse and mother of two was from Galbally, Co Tyrone, and was in her 40s.
Mr Rogers’s wife and four children were injured and remain in hospital, police said on Tuesday evening. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
The SDLP MLA for the area, Patsy McGlone, said the local community was “devastated” at the crash and it was “the worst possible news any family could receive, but particularly at this time of year”.
He said it was difficult to comprehend the “scale of the tragedy”, which had seen two fatal crashes within an area of 16km to 19km.
“This is a rural community, a small market town,” he said. “People all know each other.
“The families are going to really need all the help and support they can get.”
Galbally Community Centre paid tribute to Imelda Quinn (née Mc Donnell) on Facebook as a “devoted daughter, loyal sister, caring wife and a doting mother to her two beautiful girls.
“The Mc Donnell family have played a part in shaping our community as we know it,” the statement said, adding that Imelda had “always stepped up, leading the way in a manner which belied her youth”.
As a founder of CannyMan Community Arts, she “played an instrumental role in promoting arts and creative activity in our community.
“Even in her short time on this earth, her life will serve as a positive example to all young people in our community,” the group said.
[ Three adults killed and four children injured in Co Tyrone crashOpens in new window ]
Linda Dillon, a Sinn Féin MLA for Mid Ulster, told the BBC she knew Ms Quinn’s family and in particular her father Cormac, and the entire family would be “absolutely devastated and broken-hearted at the loss of Imelda”.
Referencing the tribute by Galbally Community Centre, she said it “says everything that needs to be said about a young woman who gave so much to her community but was a devoted daughter, a sister, a mother. She will be sorely missed.”
PSNI district commander for Mid Ulster, Supt Stephen Murray, said the police’s thoughts were “very much with the families of the people who lost their lives on our roads.
“Any loss of life is a cause of great sadness and it feels particularly tragic at Christmas,” he said.
He praised the emergency services and members of the public who came to help at the scene of the crash in Cookstown for their “caring and professional approach in these very tragic circumstances”.
Specialist investigators from the PSNI’s Collision Investigation Unit have begun inquiries into the incidents.
The police have appealed for any witnesses to either incident or anyone who may have dash-cam footage to contact them on 101. Images can also be submitted online using the PSNI’s non-emergency reporting form.
Meanwhile, an elderly driver who was injured in a car crash in Co Westmeath on December 15th has died in hospital.
The man, aged in his 70s, was taken to the Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar following the collision that occurred at 12.30pm on that day on the N4 at Rathowen.
The car the man was driving collided with an articulated truck. Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed this incident to come forward.
