Gardaí are seeking witnesses to a car crash in which three people were killed and a fourth was seriously injured in Dublin early yesterday morning.
The fourth person in the car, who was in a serious condition last night, had been banned from driving earlier this week after a high-speed chase with gardaí.
Christopher McGowan (30) and Helen Power (30), both with an address in Parkgate Place, Parkgate Street, Dublin, but originally from Co Offaly, and Thomas Shortall (42), Shurock, Moate, Co Westmeath, died in the accident, which occurred at 3.20am.
A Garda spokesman said the Volkswagen Golf in which they were travelling went out of control and collided with a parked truck near the junction of North Circular Road and Prussia Street.
It appears the car crossed the street before it collided with the truck.
Two people were pronounced dead at the scene, while the third was pronounced dead on arrival at the nearby Mater Hospital.
The fourth person in the car, Kenneth McCaffrey, was still in a serious condition in the Mater Hospital last night.
Mr McCaffrey was banned from driving for five years last Monday after a 80mph car chase by gardaí.
He is understood to have been a passenger in the car in which the three died.
Mr McCaffrey, Judge Tom Fitzpatrick said last Monday, "should not be driving at all".
He has a number of previous convictions and received a 10-month prison sentence in 2004.
Christopher McGowan was the son of Brendan McGowan, an insurance broker in the Tullamore area. He was involved in a long-term relationship with Ms Power.
Thomas Shortall was a farmer and previously ran a plant-hire business in Moate. He was a father of four children.
The North Circular Road was closed for several hours following the accident while an examination of the scene took place. It reopened at 10.30am yesterday.
Gardaí at the Bridewell station have called for witnesses to the incident to contact the station at 01-6668200.
The National Safety Council (NSC) said this had been a particularly bad 24 hours for road safety, with one man killed in Donegal, two men killed in Midleton and three dying in the Dublin crash.
Brian Farrell, a spokesman for the NSC, said it was particularly disappointing as it came after a period of reduced road deaths in March and April.
"114 lives have been lost on the roads so far this year compared with 112 for the same period last year," he said.