THREE PEOPLE have died and a young man is in a critical condition following four crashes in counties Kilkenny, Kildare and Donegal in the space of 24 hours.
A 16-year-old boy died in Co Kilkenny when the car in which he was a back seat passenger crashed into a tree at Cuffesgrange shortly after 5.30am yesterday.
The teenager was pronounced dead at the scene on the N76 Kilkenny to Clonmel road. The route remained closed for some time while gardaí examined the scene.
The driver and a front seat passenger were brought to St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny for treatment. Their condition was not known last night.
Less than two hours later, also in Co Kilkenny, a 30-year-old woman was killed when the car in which she was travelling collided with a lorry. The incident occurred on the N9 Waterford to Dublin road near Ballyhale at about 7.15am. The road remained closed for a number of hours while gardaí investigated the crash. The woman was travelling alone and the lorry driver was not injured.
Gardaí in Co Kildare have launched an investigation into the death of a man in a single-vehicle crash on Sunday night.
The 33-year-old, who has not yet been named, was fatally injured when the blue BMW car in which he was a passenger crashed into a fence at Cromwellstown, Kilteel, some 12km from Naas.
He was taken to Tallaght hospital in Dublin following the crash, where he was pronounced dead some time later.
Two other men who were travelling in the vehicle at the time were also taken to Tallaght hospital, where their condition is unknown. The driver of the car and another passenger escaped uninjured.
The deaths bring the number of people killed on the roads since Friday to seven.
A total of 36 people died on the roads in the first two months of this year, compared to 59 in January and February of last year.
Meanwhile, the Garda Ombudsman Commission has launched an investigation into a crash in Co Donegal in which a teenager was seriously injured.
A spokesman for the commission, which investigates incidents involving members of the Garda, said it was investigating a crash involving a 19-year-old man who was injured when the car in which he was travelling crashed while being pursued by a Garda car.
It is understood the car went out of control and crashed into a wall on the N56 Creeslough to Dunfanaghy road in the early hours of yesterday morning.
The man was taken to Letterkenny hospital where he is in a critical condition. Diversions were in place on the N56 yesterday while gardaí investigated the collision.
