A MAN in his 50s died when the lorry he was driving crashed into three houses on Main Street, Emyvale, Co Monaghan yesterday morning.
One of the houses was occupied at the time by a 13-year-old boy, who was not injured.
The boy had been staying at home from school because of an illness, and was sleeping in a back bedroom when the truck hit. His mother was in the back garden at the time and also escaped injury.
The driver and only occupant of the Northern Ireland-registered milk tanker was pronounced dead at the scene and his body taken to Navan General Hospital. It is understood he was originally from Latvia.
Local residents expressed their relief that there were no additional fatalities in the crash, which took place at about 10.30am.
The occupants of one of the houses had been on holidays in Scotland and were due home last night.
Fire officers who arrived at the scene initially believed there were people trapped in the rubble of the houses and used thermal imaging cameras to assess the scene. Up to 50 emergency personnel attended the incident, including gardaí, fire officers and Civil Defence members.
The road was closed to traffic for several hours following the crash as Garda forensic collision investigators examined the scene.
Inspector Alan Cunningham of Monaghan Garda station, who is in charge of the investigation, said: “It is just a miracle that no one else was fatally injured. It is sad that this man has died but it could have been much worse.”
Local Fine Gael Councillor Pat McKenna said: “This is the latest in a series of accidents on this bad bend, it is an accident blackspot, and it only stresses again the need for the village of Emyvale to be bypassed – but the Government funding is not there any more.”