Fire officer recalls ‘sheer devastation’

Those were the words used by Killarney fire station officer Mark Brady to describe the scene of the horrific crash that claimed the lives of four teenagers.

Mr Brady was among the team of 15 firefighters working to cut the young victims from the wreckage of the car that crashed on a bend between Killarney and Barraduff village.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Brady recalled the moment he attended the scene on Wednesday. “When we arrived all I could see was sheer devastation. The car was up against a tree, which made our job more awkward because we couldn’t work all around the car, only from one side of it.

“When we got there, there was a number of the youngsters still alive… it is absolutely heartbreaking for the crews.”

Mr Brady said it is always difficult to deal with a tragic road accident, but when it involved children, that it was particularly upsetting.

“It is only now that it has really started to hit me, thinking about these four young children… this time yesterday they were going out happy, looking forward to their party, and for it to end up like this is an absolute tragedy. I feel for their parents, I feel for their families. Hopefully we don’t see much more of this, but unfortunately someone somewhere else in the country is going to see this until we all learn to respect the road and not take chances.”

Mr Brady said he wanted to send home the message to young drivers to slow down and consider the consequences before getting behind the wheel of a car.

“Think about the consequences not only for yourself but your family and those around you, and if you hit someone it’s their family as well. If you’re going to a party don’t ever think of getting on the road afterwards… people’s lives in this town today are destroyed.”

- Gardaí have issued an appeal for anyone who may have witnessed the collision to contact Killarney Garda Station on 064-6671160.