Trauma for firemen in crash deaths of little girls
Six-year-old Ava Carberry Varden, from Oranmore, Co Galway, and Michella Logan, 9, from Kilcock, Co Kildare, were named yesterday as the two children who died in the Longford crash.
Ava’s mother is from Longford and her father is well-known businessman Tommy Varden, sponsor of the Galway football team. Mr Varden is also believed to be the father of another child injured in the crash.
One of the crash victims, a boy, was transferred to Crumlin Hospital in Dublin yesterday morning. His condition is unknown.
A fourth child, an eight-year-old girl, is in a critical condition at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Mullingar.
Of the two women injured in the crash, one was in a comfortable condition at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Mullingar last night, while the second was released yesterday morning.
Investigators were last night trying to establish how the car — a black BMW 116 — hit an embankment in a quiet cul-de-sac.
The accident happened in Camlisk, Edgeworthstown, at 9.30pm on Monday. A witness alerted the emergency services.
Michella was pronounced dead at the scene, and Ava died later in hospital. The road remained closed yesterday while the scene was examined.
Postmortem examinations are being carried out on the bodies of the girls. It is understood they are not related to one another.
Yesterday, chief fire officer Declan Kilcline said the accident was particularly traumatic for his crew.
“All accidents are traumatic but when they arrived at the scene the two children were critically ill and some of the firemen knew the people involved, which made it even more traumatic.
“They had to prioritise whose injuries were worse and started working on the children straight away. They worked very intensely on them and some of the firemen went in the ambulance to Mullingar to assist in any way they could,” he said.
He said the accident would have ramifications for the area and he extended his condolences to the families caught up in the accident.
Mr Kilcline said he believed all of the occupants had been wearing seatbelts. He said the weather conditions were misty and the road would have been wet.
The stretch of road where the accident occurred was the national primary route, but a bypass for the town opened more than a year ago and it became a cul-de-sac for local residents to get to their houses.
Superintendent John Gantley said officers would do everything to establish the cause of the crash.
“No stone will be left unturned to find out what happened or what occurred here,” said Supt Gantley.
