CARNAGE PROBE
Last night, officers were trying to establish how the youths got possession of the car which went out of control and ploughed into a tree about five kilometres outside Killarney, on the main road to Mallow, at 7.10am. It is understood the teenagers had earlier attended a house party in the Kilcummin area, near Killarney, and were on their way back to Killarney when the car crashed.
Gardaí believe they obtained the car while at the party.
The dead were named as brothers David, aged 17, the driver of the car, and Kevin Breen, aged 15, of Hazelwood Drive, Ballyspillane, Killarney; Áine O’Riordan, aged 15, of St John’s Park, Castleisland; and Brian Coffey, aged 19, of Crohane, Killarney.
The Breen brothers and Ms O’Riordan were pronounced dead at the scene and Mr Coffey died later in the morning at Kerry General Hospital, Tralee.
A fifth person in the car, Darragh Jones, aged 16, from Farranfore, Co Kerry, is in a stable condition at Kerry General Hospital, according to the HSE last night.
The accident occurred on a sweeping bend controlled by a continuous white line at Carrigeen, about halfway between Killarney and Barraduff village.
A 30ft skid mark on the road leads to the spot where the right side of silver 00-registered Hyundai Accent ended up wedged against a tree on an embankment.
The possibility of speed being a factor in the crash is one of the areas being probed by gardaí.
Firefighters used cutting equipment to extricate all the victims from the car and Garda forensic experts conducted an examination of the scene.
The road was closed for much of the day and traffic diverted via Glenflesk and Barraduff.
Assistant chief fire officer for Kerry Michael Flynn said the three teenagers killed instantly were on the driver’s side.
Kerry’s most senior Garda officer, Chief Superintendent Pat Sullivan, who visited the scene, extended sympathy to the families. While declining to speculate on the likely cause of the accident, he appealed to drivers to slow down and take care on the roads. “Our hearts go out to the parents and families of the victims. It’s disappointing to see an accident like this when the number of road fatalities nationally and in Kerry is down this year,” Chief Supt Sullivan said.
Gardaí issued an appeal to anyone who may have witnessed the collision or have any information to contact them, especially anyone who may have seen the car on the road between the roundabout at Daly’s Supervalu, Killarney, and Barraduff, between 6am and 7.15am.
* Contact Killarney Garda Station on 064-6671160, the Garda Confidential Line 1-800-666-111 or any Garda station.
