Teen ‘was in driving seat trapped behind wheel’

AS THE families of the teenagers who died in the New Year’s Eve crash near Nenagh prepare for today’s funerals, it was learned emergency services personnel found one of the teenagers trapped in the driver’s seat.

And some reports indicate he was still wearing a safety belt.

Four of the five teenagers were trapped in the car when gardaí got to the scene within 10 minutes of the crash.

One was in the driver’s seat, another of the five was in the front passenger seat and two others in the back.

One of the three boys who died had been flung through the rear hatchback door. The position of the four passengers in the car will be a significant element in the Garda investigation into the crash, which happened at about 7.30pm on New Year’s Eve.

Gardaí are understood to have information from the scene that, with forensic examination, will help establish who was driving at the time of the fatal crash.

A Garda spokesman said they will be establishing all the circumstances surrounding the accident, including who was driving at the time of the accident.

As soon as doctors give them clearance, they plan to interview the two survivors, Thomas Clarke, 16, and Kelsey Tiernan, 15, who are in a stable condition at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital after undergoing major surgery.

Gardaí in Nenagh are also tracking the history of the 1995 Opel Corsa, which was bought recently in north Tipperary.

They will also try and ascertain the legality of the purchase and sale of the car.

Under the 2004 Road Traffic Act it is illegal to sell a car to somebody under the age of 17. However, one legal source said: “If somebody comes to you wishing to buy a car, there is nothing [in the law] to say you have to look for a birth cert from the purchaser.”

Meanwhile more information emerged yesterday about the crash.

The alarm was raised by a local resident who heard a loud bang.

A Nenagh Garda patrol car that was in the general vicinity was alerted and arrived at the scene within 10 minutes.

All other emergency services were also alerted.

Emergency services sources indicate the person in the driver’s seat, and the front-seat passenger, still had their seatbelts on.

It took more than an hour to cut out the two who survived along with the two dead boys from the wreckage.