Man in tears as he recalls horror crash

A man who survived a car crash with a lorry that killed four Portuguese construction workers near Newry has broken down in tears giving evidence at the High Court today.

Paulo Branco has been testifying in an action for damages by Sandra Alves, whose 28-year-old brother Ricardo lost his life in the collision at Tandragee Road, Co Down in August 2009.

Survivor Paulo Branco said he was in the front passenger seat of the Ford Focus as it rounded a bend when the vehichle and a lorry collided head-on at the entrance of a tunnel.

He was a construction worker at Dublin Airport at the time and was on his way to visit relatives in Portadown with four Portuguese colleagues, who all lost their lives.

Giving his evidence through an interpreter, he said conditions on the roads were wet that day and that the lorry driver was partially on the wrong side of the road.

He cried in court as he recalled the driver Ricardo’s last words about not being able to steer the car left.

Ricardo’s sister Sandra Alves is suing Haulage Services Ltd for damages and the lorry driver who will claim the car was speeding and on the wrong side of the road at the time of the crash.