Two more young people have died after the weekend car crash in Co Laois, which had already claimed three lives. Ms Lorraine Bowe (18), from Shannanhoe outside Portlaoise, and Mr Fergal Hanlon (21), from Corrann, Co Laois, died yesterday in the intensive care unit of Beaumont Hospital, Dublin.
The hospital said last night that Ms Jackie Cuddy, who was also a passenger in the Nissan Sentra which crashed in the early hours of Saturday morning, was still critically ill. The other three who died were Mr Raymond Cuddy (21), Kilbricken, Mountrath, Co Laois, Mr Matthew Peters (20), also of Kilbricken, who was driving, and Ms Aoife Carroll (17), of Camross, Co Laois.
There were nine people in the Sentra when it crashed into a tractor trailer, about a mile outside Portlaoise. The car was then struck from behind by another vehicle. The occupants are believed to have been on their way to a disco in the town. School friends of the deceased were unable to complete their Leaving Cert exams on Monday because of their grief at the deaths.