Fix black spot or more will die, pleads family

A FAMILY who campaigned to have an accident black spot bend removed had their worst fears realised yesterday when they woke to find an overturned car on their front lawn with a young man dead inside the vehicle.

The single vehicle accident on a bad bend at Tubrid Mór near Ardfert occurred around 3.15am.

A 24-year-old local driver, Donal Flaherty, from Sackville, died at the scene.

His car mounted a steel safety barrier, cleared a wall and struck the porch of the Davis family’s home before ending up on the lawn.

Gardaí are investigating the accident, which occurred about five miles from Tralee.

The Davis family last night appealed to the authorities to completely remove the bad bend.

Eileen Davis revealed the family had complained several times to Kerry County Council about the dangers posed by the bend.

The local authority had removed a ditch and erected a concrete barrier to improve visibility. Slow signs and a steel barrier were also erected, but that was not enough, said Ms Davis.

She said there were traffic incidents at the bend frequently, some resulting in serious injuries. Ms Davis said the family was regularly disturbed by noises of vehicles colliding with the barriers. The last incident was two weeks ago. However, yesterday’s early morning crash was the first fatality.

Ms Davis said her mother was awakened around 3.15am by a loud bang. Both women discovered the vehicle on the lawn outside their front door and alerted the emergency services.

She said her parents were friendly with Mr Flaherty’s parents. “We are very upset for them and we offer them our deepest sympathies.”

Gardaí said a number of measures had been taken to improve safety at the accident scene.

Meanwhile, gardaí in Tarbert are also investigating a serious injury after a collision which happened in Ballydonohoe around 1.45am yesterday.

A man in his early 20s was struck by a car which failed to remain at the scene. The pedestrian was taken to Cork University Hospital and his condition was describe yesterday as critical.

A man in his 30s was arrested a short time later under suspicion of drink driving and later released.