All four people in the back seat of a car which claimed the lives of two young people in Co Donegal yesterday were not wearing seatbelts.
All four rear passengers were thrown from the blue Peugeot 306 car when it hit a wall and then a lamp-post in the seaside village of Bundoran at 3.25am.
The six people in the Northern-registered car had been out socialising earlier in the evening and were understood to be travelling to the village of Belleek in Co Fermanagh where some of them lived.
The two who died have been named locally as Shiva Devine, who was in her 20s, who lived in Beleek but was originally from Donegal and Conall McAleer from Ederney in Co Fermanagh.
All four, including the two fatally injured victims and another seriously injured man and woman, were found lying side-by-side at the scene.
It is understood the car may have clipped a kerb before it lost control and then hit a lamp-post.
The noise of the impact alerted locals who contacted the emergency services who were on the scene very quickly.
Ambulance personnel, Gardai and members of the fire service immediately commenced a large-scale emergency procedure.
Ambulance personnel attempted CPR but two of those, Ms Devine and Mr McAleer, were pronounced dead at the scene.
Three others were taken to Sligo University Hospital for emergency treatment including the two other back seat passengers who suffered serious injuries.
Gardai could not initially find the driver of the car as he left the scene.
It is understood the man went to accommodation which is owned by relatives in the locality.
They convinced him to return to the scene and a short time later he presented himself to Gardai at the scene and was later arrested.
It is understood the man is from Northern Ireland and has since been released by Gardai without charge.
Fiachra Boyle, who is from Belfast but has a holiday home in the area, said he was very saddened to hear the news.
Mr Boyle was walking to get his Sunday morning newspaper when he noticed the road was blocked off.
He said “I knew it must have been a bad crash when I saw the area cordoned off but when I heard two young people had died I was speechless.
“I walked along this street last night at about 11pm. It was peaceful but it was raining and there was very few people about.
“I just couldn’t imagine what could have happened in those few short hours.
“I don’t know what the circumstances of the crash were but my thoughts are with those poor families.”
Locals pointed to the heavy downpours overnight and how that may have affected the road conditions.
Local parish priest Fr Ray Munster of the Church of the Immaculate Conception said prayers for those killed in the crash at yesterday’s masses in the town.
He added that prayers were also offered for those who survived the crash but were injured.
“We hope and pray that they make a full recovery,” he said.
Local man Frankie O’Gorman said this was not the first such crash at this location.
He said a hotel which once stood at this location had been demolished and he was surprised the road was not widened.
“There have been a lot of accidents at this location but this is undoubtedly the worst.
“It’s quite a narrow road and it’s a dangerous corner so I had thought it would have been widened a long time ago.
“It’s so tragic and the thoughts and prayers of everyone in our community are with those who were involved,” he said.
The road remained closed throughout the day as Garda forensic officers carried out a full investigation into the cause of the crash.
It re-opened just before 6pm last night as life in the seaside town tried to return to some kind of normality.
Tags: