Three girls recall car’s fatal plunge into icy river

Three tearful teenage girls gave graphic details of the night they were trapped in a car rapidly filling with icy water after it plunged upside down into a river while they were being driven to a disco.

Rebecca Langan, 14, from Currabaggan, Knockmore; Kate McLoughlin, 14, from Cloghans, Ballina; and Carrie McAndrew, 13, from Belgarrow, Foxford, all Co Mayo, escaped the river plunge which occurred near their homes on Dec 9 last.

But their close friend, Rachel Herbert, 15, and her mother Sandra Herbert, 40, an employee of the Road Safety Authority in Ballina, died in the incident.