'Two seconds flat is the difference between losing your life or not' - Sister of nurse who crashed after night shift speaks out

“If we can save just one life by saying this, it would be a good thing,” Andrea Browne said.

The sister of a nurse who died on the way home from work has urged anyone working overnight to pull over and rest if they feel tired.

Or, Andrea Browne said at a memorial event for her sister Kerrie, they should get a lift.

“If we can save just one life by saying this, it would be a good thing,” she said, speaking after more than 1,000 people showed their support for the event..

“At the end of the day, two seconds flat is the difference between losing your life or not.

One life lost is one life too many.

The 33-year-old’s younger sister was coming back from a night shift at University Hospital Kerry in Tralee when she appears to have fallen asleep at the wheel.

The 26-year-old crossed over to the other side of the N21, at Meenleitrim, Castleisland, Co.Kerry and collided with an SUV heading in the opposite direction.

Kerrie, who would have celebrated her 27th birthday tomorrow, had only recently returned to the county after working as a nurse in London for about seven years.

After a holiday to Bali with her long-time boyfriend and childhood sweetheart Eamon Kiely, she had started working for an agency, which got her shifts in Tralee and Limerick.

A former contender for the 2016 London Rose, Kerrie had normally worked at the UHK’s Clonfert Children’s Ward but had agreed to work the overnight shift in the Emergency Department.

The last time Andrea spoke to her sister was just before Kerrie went to work around 7pm.

And the last communication she got from her was at around 11pm, when her sister sent her a Snapchat.

“I was on my way to work in Tralee when I found out,” disability care services worker Andrea recalled.

“I always go the back road but this particular morning it was really nice and I decided to go by the main road.

“I had to go to work extra early that morning.

We said we would pass her on the road and then we came on the accident.

“I was about eight to ten cars behind.

“I had a gut feeling that it was her.

“I rang her phone and her phone was switched off.”

She added: “We are not 100% sure what happened at the moment, except that Kerrie crossed the road.”

Andrea feels strongly that if there is anything she can do to help save other lives on the road, she will.

While everything points to her sister falling asleep, it will be some time before her family know for sure.

In the meantime, however, she has a simple message.

“Take care when you are driving,” she told the Irish Examiner, as she fought back tears.

“One life lost is one life too many.”

She accepts while so many work overnight shifts, the first thing on their mind when they end, is to get home to bed.

And she says that no matter how many messages get out about road safety and sleeping while tired, people will still refuse to pull in to have a nap.

She is all too aware that a split-second lapse in concentration and awareness can have such devastating consequences.

Two seconds flat is the difference between losing your life or not.

“But if you could make a phone call to someone to collect you or pull in and have a break for a few minutes, you could well be saving your life,” she added.