Removal of father who lost two children in Devon road crash

The removal takes place tonight of a Corkman who has died 10 months after a car crash in England that claimed the lives of his son and unborn daughter.

Connie Twomey and his wife Elber, from Meelin, Co Cork, suffered serious injuries in the collision last July, in which their one- year-old son Oisín, died. Elber was five months pregnant with Oisín’s unborn sister, who died in hospital and was named Elber Marie.

In August, the couple were transferred from an English hospital to Cork University Hospital, where Mr Twomey, 39, had remained since. The construction worker passed away late on Friday night.

Mr Twomey was a strong hurler and yesterday, condolences and tributes were expressed on the Meelin GAA Facebook page, which described him as a Meelin stalwart.

His removal will take place tonight from a funeral home in nearby Rockchapel to the village church in Meelin, where his funeral Mass will take place on Tuesday.

Mr Twomey is survived by Elber, and by his parents, grandmother, and three sisters.

The family has asked for donations, in lieu of flowers, to be made to the neurology department at Cork University Hospital.

The Twomeys were nearing the end of a family holiday in England last summer when the head-on crash happened on Jul 6.

The other driver, Marek Wojciechowski, 26, also died in the crash outside Torquay in Cornwall.

The collision was the subject of an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) inquiry, believed to be continuing, after it emerged police were looking for Mr Wojciechowski, a taxi driver from Poland.

There had been concerns for his mental health and a report to the police that afternoon had him treated as a high-risk missing person. An officer in a marked police car had seen him driving on the Hamelin Way in Torquay, and the IPPC is examining whether he was being pursued at the time of the crash.

The tragedy prompted a range of fundraising events to support the Twomey family, while people in Devon also set up a fund for them and for the family of Mr Wojciechowski, who was married with two daughters.