Two men die in 3-car crash in Cork

GARDAÍ were last night attempting to confirm the identities of two young eastern European men, understood to be from Moldova, who were killed in an horrific high-speed crash south of Cork city.

The three-car smash occurred 24 hours after a 21-year-old man died less than five miles away. Another young man was killed later last night in Co Clare, bringing to five the number of people who have died on the roads since Friday.

The first of the three young men killed was 21-year-old Timmy Hayes from Ash Road, Fota Rock, Carrigtwohill, who suffered fatal injuries when the car he was travelling in crashed at Bridgemount near Carrigaline on Saturday. Four other occupants of the car, all in their early 20s, were taken to Cork University Hospital with minor injuries.

Just 24 hours later, the two eastern European men, also in their 20s, lost their lives at 6.30am on the main Cork city to Carrigaline road in a three-car crash.

Two others are fighting for their lives following the smash, while a woman in the same car is in a stable condition.

The five were travelling in a BMW heading towards Carrigaline when their car was in collision with another vehicle travelling in the opposite direction at Carr’s Hill.

The driver of the BMW and a rear-seat passenger were pronounced dead at the scene. Gardaí were last night attempting to identify the deceased, who are understood to be from Moldova.

The second car, which was driven by a man in his 40s, ended up in a field.

The driver of a third car, which had been overtaken by the BMW, hit a ditch trying to avoid the crash.

The man was a garda returning home at the end of his shift.

Both drivers were yesterday being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Cork county councillor for the Carrigaline area Tim Lombard said the stretch of road from Cork to the town was particularly dangerous. He said he could recall three fatalities over the past three years, plus this weekend’s deaths.

“There are two issues here,” he said. “One is the huge volume of traffic on the road – it is the main road to Carrigaline and Ringaskiddy and right at the top there are two sweeping bad corners.

“We are still waiting and have been waiting for the N28 upgrade which has been promised for about 10 years,” he said.

“The upgrade would mean a 13km stretch of motorway and would be a straight road taking away those bad bends. It has been designed and should be ready to go, but now there is no money.”

An economic assessment of the N28 Road Scheme prepared earlier this year said the road was “sub-standard” and, in parts, “hazardous”.

Meanwhile, another fatality involved an elderly German woman who was killed after being hit by a tractor at a pedestrian crossing in Bunratty on Friday.

Late last night a man died following a road traffic accident in Co Clare. The man in his 20s was killed when his car left the road at Coose on the Whitegate to Portumna road at around 9.30pm. The victim, believed to be from the local area, died at the scene.

It is believed that the man’s car struck a ditch before colliding with a tree. There was no one else in the car and no other vehicle was involved.

Two units of the fire brigade and an ambulance from Scarriff attended the incident.

Elsewhere, a man in his 30s is in a serious condition in hospital after he was knocked down by a car on the Main Street in Naas in Co Kildare shortly after midnight on Sunday.