Bereaved father in call to remember road victims

FIVE years ago, Michael O’Neill was at home in Monasterboice, Co Louth, when he heard an awful bang and realised that something terrible had occurred just down the road.

When he went outside to see what had happened, he saw a lorry that had plunged into the ditch and a white van with the front taken out of it.

A neighbour asked him if he knew anyone in a little green car and pointed to it. It was under the lorry.

Michael went around the back of the lorry and saw the car. He could see his daughter’s boyfriend, Dominic Wogan, but could not see his daughter, although he knew she was with him in the vehicle.

“With that there was a terrible explosion and the car went up in a ball of smoke in front of my eyes. I could not do anything,” he recalled yesterday.

After the explosion Michael wanted to see if he could do anything but two men grabbed him and took him away.

By that stage, however, he knew in his heart that nothing could be done for Fiona, then 21, and Dominic, 23, who were killed just hours before they were due to fly to Australia.

Now Michael wants the Government to officially recognise World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, that this year fell on the anniversary of the death of his daughter and her boyfriend.

The United National General Assembly passed a resolution last year, designating the third Sunday in November as the annual day of remembrance.

Since 1961 more than 21,000 people have been killed in road accidents in Ireland.

“Nobody realises the pain and heartbreak suffered by families who have lost loved ones in road crashes. Nobody believes it will ever happen to them but it can and it does. It happened to our families,” he said.

Chairman of the Road Safety Authority, Gay Byrne, said there was always one voice missing from the debate and discussion on road safety, the voice of those who have lost their lives on our roads.

Mr Byrne said the day, which was marked by services around Ireland yesterday, should prompt motorists to examine their own driving behaviour.

“One practical way we can honour those who have died on our roads is to examine closely our own behaviour. Is there room for improvement? Are there any bad habits we would change that would make us and others safer?”

Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, said people need not die on the roads. He urged all road users, whether cycling, walking or driving, to have consideration for others and take extra care.