Boy, 8, and man, 44, die in road accidents

An eight-year-old boy and a middle-aged man lost their lives in separate road accidents yesterday.

Adam Gilmour was walking to school in Antrim with his mother Sarah Hanna and his five siblings when they were hit by a car.

In Co Limerick, a pedestrian died in the village of Hospital.

In the accident near Cloughmills, Co Antrim, neighbours said Ms Hanna brought her children to the centre of the village every day for onward transport to schools in the wider area.

An 18-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident.

Chief Inspector Stephen McCauley of the PSNI said Adam’s mother, along with four of his siblings, received treatment in hospitals in Belfast, Antrim and Coleraine for a range of injuries, some of which were serious. One child was not injured.

Northern Ireland Assembly member Jim Allister said Ms Hanna had warned him of the danger: “Just three weeks ago, the mother called at my office and warned that, because the education and library board was failing to provide transport for her children, they would be ‘wiped out’ some morning on the road.”

The youngsters, who a neighbour said ranged in age from toddler to teenage, were on the Loughill Road when the accident happened at around 8.30am.

Meanwhile, tributes have been paid to a man knocked down just yards from his home in Co Limerick.

Named locally as 44-year-old Vincent Ryan, he was crossing Main Street in Hospital at 2.10am when he was hit by a Ford Focus.

Neighbours described Mr Ryan as “a genuine, lovely” man who suffered from a limp following a car crash a few years ago, in which he also lost an eye.

Locals said one of his former neighbours was knocked down in the same spot in 2004 and there were continuing concerns about street lighting in the area.

lWitnesses are asked to contact Bruff Garda Station on 061-382940 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800-666-111.