Black weekend as five die on roads

FIVE people have died in just 24 hours in one of the blackest weekends ever on Irish roads.

Four were killed on Saturday and a fifth person died as a result of a road accident in the early hours of yesterday morning. A number of others are being treated in a number of hospitals for injuries.

A 20-year-old Polish man was charged in Longford with drunk driving after a crash left a compatriot dead. Jaroslau Debik, 19, from Shannonside, Rooskey, Co Roscommon was a back seat passenger in the Honda Civic which went out of control and hit an ESB pole at Battery Road, Longford just after midnight on Saturday.

The driver, Grzegorz Zyrek of the same address, had been celebrating his 20th birthday, but ended up at a special sitting of Longford District Court yesterday charged with drunk driving. He was remanded in custody to appear again tomorrow.

Another passenger in the car also appeared in court, charged with stealing a wallet belonging to a garda as he was being driven from the scene in a patrol car. Naolski Czeslau (37) of Lough Ree Park, Lanesborough, Co. Longford, was remanded in custody until tomorrow. He was one of six passengers in the car when the crash happened.

The first fatal weekend accident happened at 8.20am on Saturday when a 28-year-old man lost control of his motorcycle and crashed into a wall at Moonvoy, Tramore, Co Waterford. Declan O’ Sullivan from Riverview, Tramore was pronounced dead at the scene.

Donegal gardaí are investigating a fatal collision at Racend, Coolboy, Kilmacrennan at 11.40am on Saturday in which Wilford Patterson, a pedestrian in his sixties from Coolboy, was hit by a car. Gardai in Co Louth are investigating a fatal crash at lunchtime on Saturday at Carrickcarnan, Dromad, Co. Louth. A woman in her late twenties who was a back seat passenger was injured in the two-car collision and died later in hospital.

Gardai are investigating an accident at Mountrath on Saturday night in which 40-year-old Joseph Wisely from Portlaoise died when his motorbike was in collision with a car. A man was in a critical condition in hospital last night after a two car-crash at Inverin, Co Galway on Saturday night.