Teenagers killed in crash ‘did not wear seatbelts’

NONE of the three teenagers killed in an horrific road accident in Co Donegal were wearing seat belts, gardaí said yesterday.

The one passenger to survive the crash was the only one belted in when the car hit a bridge and careered into a tree in Ballymagan, near Buncrana.

The tragedy has left the community devastated and brings to eight the number of fatalities on the town’s roads in just three weeks.

The three killed were the driver of the car, Shane Cuffe, aged 18, and Owen O’Doherty, also aged 18, both from Buncrana, and 16-year-old Áine O’Leary, from Skerries, Co Dublin.

The sole survivor, a girl aged 16, was taken to Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry after the accident on 11pm on Thursday. Her injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

Superintendent Vincent O’Brien said the news proved that seat belts really did save lives.

“I am appealing to all young people in Inishowen to wear their seat belts when they are driving, and I would also appeal to young male drivers to slow down,” he said.

“Unfortunately, 22 people have been killed on Donegal roads this year and this is yet another black day for Donegal.

“This was the third fatal accident here in as many weeks and has left everybody in complete shock.”

Father Con McLaughlin, who visited all of the victims’ families, said the community was stunned, adding it was the worst incident he has had to deal with during his time in the area.

“You can never get used to seeing bodies being carried from the twisted wreckage,” he said. “They were only children. It’s a terrible cross for the people of Buncrana to bear.”

Meanwhile, in Cahir, Co Tipperary, a 71-year-old woman died after a collision with a truck at 10am yesterday morning. She was the 35th pedestrian killed on the State’s roads this year.

A National Safety Council spokesperson said road deaths “tend to be a male problem and 70% of all killed in road accidents this year have been male.”

The council added that more than one quarter of the 201 people killed on the roads this year have been under 25 and that young male drivers were a particularly high-risk group.

There were 205 road deaths in the first seven months of last year, but that figure has almost been reached before July is barely a week old.

Despite the initial success of the penalty points system in reducing serious road accidents, 188 people died up to June this year.

That figure is just one fewer than for the first six months of 2002.