The death of a female pedestrian in her 20s in County Donegal brings the number of people killed on Irish roads in the first five days of this year to seven.
Gardaí attended the scene of the latest incident on the country’s roads on Friday night. The incident occurred on the N56 road in Illistrin and involved cars and pedestrians. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene late Friday night and her body was left behind.
The N56 was closed between Letterkenny and Kilmaclennan to allow a technical inspection of the scene to take place on Saturday. Gardaí are appealing for witnesses, including anyone who may have dashcam footage, who were traveling in the Illistrin area between 6pm and 7.15pm.
Earlier on Friday, a woman in her 80s died in a separate incident in County Meath.
The woman was the driver of a car that collided with a minibus on the R156 at Scariff Bridge, Batterstown, around midday. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the minibus, a man in his 50s, and a passenger were taken to Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The woman’s body has since been removed from the scene, and an autopsy will be performed.
The accident scene is being preserved for technical examination by the Garda Forensic Collision Investigation and the road is currently closed to traffic.
Elsewhere on Friday, a man in his 30s was killed in a two-car crash on the R331 at Belladuff, Tageen, near Claremorris, in Co. Mayo at about 7.45am.
He was the driver and sole occupant of one of the vehicles and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the other car, a woman in her 20s, was taken to Mayo University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The road between Claremorris and Hollymount remained closed to traffic on Friday afternoon as technical inspections were carried out and local diversions were put in place.
Gardaí have camera footage taken between 7.30am and 8am and are appealing for witnesses and road users to get in touch.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Claremorris Garda Station on (094) 937 2080, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any other station.
Similar camera footage and witness appeals were made in a fatal crash involving a truck and a car on the N22 Cork-Killarney road near Glenflesk on Thursday.
The woman who died in the incident near Glenflesk is named locally as Mary Walsh, maiden name Fitzgerald.
Ms Walsh, 52, from Farha, west of Killarney, was a mother of one. She was attended by emergency services, including gardaí and fire and emergency services.
Walsh, the driver of the car, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the articulated truck was treated for shock symptoms.
The N22 road between Glenflesque and Lysbigeen remained closed overnight for technical inspections, and a diversion route was put in place on Friday morning.
Killarney Borough Councilor Martin Grady, an independent member of the Killarney Fire Service, expressed his condolences to the families, noting that last year there were nine road fatalities in Kerry.
“This is a terrible tragedy and the first fatal crash on Kerry roads this year. My condolences go out to the family and the community.”
The first person to die on Irish roads in 2024 was Keith Higginbotham, 27, of Blackditch, Nurney, Co Kildare. He was a passenger in a car that crashed onto the M7 at Curragh Farm between Kildare town and Newbridge on New Year’s Day.
The following day, motorcyclist Gary Murphy, 48, from Cavan, died in an accident in Co Cavan.
Also on Tuesday, a woman was killed and two young children were seriously injured when the car they were traveling in collided with a van on the R148 in Cloncurry, near Enfield.
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