Four people were killed in road crashes in the North in the past 24 hours. The deaths of two young men who were killed in a crash while being pursued by police was today being investigated by the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman.
The men died when they were in collision with another vehicle outside Castledawson, Co Derry. Their car careered off the road and ended up at the bottom of an embankment beside the Hillhead Road last night.
Police confirmed they had been pursuing the white Honda Civic the men were in when it collided with a 4x4. The occupants of the SUV, a man and a woman, were taken to hospital after being cut free by the Fire and Rescue Service.
Three people in three other vehicles involved in the incident were treated at the scene for shock and minor injuries. The incident happened at around 9.20pm last night.
Because of the PSNI involvement in the incident the crash, it was automatically reported to Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan for investigation.
A spokesman said the investigation had begun and would be "full and thorough". He said they could not comment on whether the car had been travelling at high speed when it crashed.
Cookstown Fire and Rescue Service district commander, Paul McCloskey said his officers found the dead men in the vehicle at the bottom of the embankment.
"A man and woman in their mid 30s in another car on the main road were trapped and we had to work on freeing them and they were taken to hospital.
"A car full of doctors had been passing and had already established that the two men in the other car were dead.
Meanwhile, the deaths of two other people in separate St Patrick's Day road accidents were being investigated by the PSNI.
A man was arrested after the body of a male was found lying at the side of a country road in Co Fermanagh. A passing motorist discovered the body on the Ederney Road at Lack at around 4.45am and raised the alarm.
Outside Claudy, Co Derry a 17-year-old girl died when the car in which she was a passenger crashed off the road and struck a tree early today.
Four other people in the car were injured and taken to hospital. One man, understood to be the driver of the car, was arrested. None of those treated sustained life threatening injuries.