FOUR PEOPLE were killed in what the Road Safety Authority (RSA) called “an awful weekend” on the State’s roads.
The four died in separate collisions, three of which took place in the early hours of Sunday.
The deaths bring to 163 the number of people killed on the roads since the start of the year.
The fatalities began on Saturday night when a woman was involved in a two-vehicle collision on the Birr to Tullamore road in Co Offaly. The crash happened at about 10.30pm at Kennedy’s Cross.
Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or the vehicles before the collision is asked to contact Birr Garda station on (057) 9169710.
A few hours later, shortly after midnight an 18-year-old man was killed in a single-vehicle crash at Dundevan, Kilogy, Co Cavan.
A second male, aged 16 and a passenger in the car, was also injured when the car left the carriageway at five minutes past midnight.
Again gardaí have appealed for witnesses to contact Cavan Garda station on (049) 4368800.
Just over an hour later, at 1.15am on Sunday a 22-year-old man was killed when the car he was driving was involved in a collision with another car on the southbound carriageway of the N7 Naas Road at Rathcoole, Co Dublin.
The driver’s female passenger was injured in the incident. Both were taken to Tallaght hospital, where the young man was pronounced dead.
The driver of the second car involved in the collision, a 28-year-old man, was also injured. Gardaí at Clondalkin have asked anyone with information to contact them on (01) 6667600.
In Kilkenny, shortly before 6am yesterday a man in his 20s was seriously injured when he was struck by a car on the Waterford Road. He was taken by ambulance to St Luke’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Once more gardaí are seeking witnesses to the crash. They can be contacted at Kilkenny Garda station on (056) 7775000.
According to the Garda 159 people had lost their lives on the roads between the start of the year and 9am on Friday. This figure was 24 less than the similar period in 2009.
However, while numbers of road deaths are down compared to recent years the RSA said the weekend was a sharp reminder that the dangers on the roads were still there.
Spokesman Brian Farrell said “this awful weekend has proven that despite fewer people being killed the dangers hadn’t gone away”.
The authority also announced details of its annual national “drive to save lives” to take place during Irish Road Safety Week, which runs from today until Sunday, October 17th.
Stressing the importance of not becoming complacent, the authority chairman Gay Byrne said it was “worrying” that “we could lose another 65 fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters on our roads before the year is out”.
County by county details of activities during Road Safety Week are available on the safety authority’s website on www.rsa.ie