11-year-old’s mum dies in car crash

An 11-year-old girl is this morning coming to terms with the death of her mother just days before Christmas.

Valerie O’Donovan, 32, died after the car in which she was a front-seat passenger crashed at 2am yesterday at Manch Middle, Ballineen, West Cork.

The car hit a telegraph pole at a notorious accident blackspot in the area — leaving Ms O’Donovan’s daughter facing a Christmas Eve nightmare.

The driver and only other occupant, a man in his 30s from Kinsale, Co Cork, was removed by ambulance to Cork University Hospital. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

The road where the crash occurred was closed yesterday, with diversions in place to allow for forensic checks of the site.

Ms O’Donovan worked as a secretary in a solicitor’s office and was described as a kind woman who was devoted to her young daughter.

The crash victim celebrated her 32nd birthday last Thursday.

The area where the incident occurred is a particularly dangerous stretch of road which has seen a series of other accidents in recent years.

Meanwhile, gardaí in Cork have appealed for witnesses to a collision in which an 82-year-old female walker lost her life.

The pensioner died at CUH on Saturday as a result of injuries she received in an accident involving a car on Melbourn Rd in Bishopstown on Dec 18.

Gardaí have asked anyone with information to contact them at Togher Garda Station on 021 4947120.