Two teenagers killed in road crashes

TWO teenage boys have died and two more are in hospital with serious injuries just 24 hours after a bank holiday weekend that saw five people lose their lives due to the carnage on Irish roads.

In separate tragedies yesterday, the lives of families in West Cork and Westmeath were shattered after fatal collisions.

In the picturesque town of Rosscarbery in West Cork, a 18-year-old lost his life in a horror two-car crash.

The incident occurred just after 8pm approximately a mile west of the town on the N71 Skibbereen road and is believed to have involved a car and a van.

The young man was pronounced dead at the scene, which was closed off last night as gardaí began their investigation.

Two other individuals were also taken to Cork University Hospital. Their conditions have been described as serious.

Hours earlier, a similar tragedy occurred in Co Westmeath, when a two-car crash led to the death of a 19-year-old male.

The teenager, who was the sole occupant of one of the vehicles, died after the incident on the N51 road between Athboy and Devlin just after 3pm.

Gardaí, who closed off the scene pending a full examination, said he was rushed to the Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar.

However, he was pronounced dead a short time later.

One of the two occupants of the second vehicle was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The tragic deaths come after six fatalities in separate incidents since Friday, five of which occurred over the bank holiday weekend.

On Friday, a man in his 60s in Donegal town lost his life in a two-car collision on the bypass between Tullyearl and Dromlonagher.

He was one of the driver’s of the vehicles and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Another man in his 60s died in a two-car crash in Co Carlow the following day, while three young people died on Sunday.

The deaths involved two men in their 20s in the early hours of Sunday morning on Ballygall Road East, north Dublin, when it is believed their car went out of control and struck a wall.

Kelly Gregan, a 20-year-old arts student, also died on Sunday morning after she was the victim of a hit-and-run crash in Gorey, Co Wexford.

A 43-year-old motorcyclist died at 7.30am yesterday when his vehicle collided with a car on the Ennis to Tulla road in Co Clare.

The latest deaths mean that 179 people have died on Irish roads so far this year, 17 lower than the same period last year.

* Anyone with information is urged to contact the Garda confidential telephone line on 1800 666111.