A community in Co Donegal is said to be “raw with grief” after a seven-year-old girl died and three other people, including a two-year-old girl, were seriously injured in a road crash yesterday evening.
The collision, involving a car and a van, occurred on the R240 at Glentogher, Carndonagh, shortly after 6.30pm.
A woman in her 20s who was driving the car, a man in his 30s who was the front seat passenger, and the toddler, who was a back seat passenger, were taken to Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry. They all remain in a serious condition.
No other injuries have been reported.
The road remains closed this morning for a forensic examination and local diversions are in place.
Gardaí have appealed for any witnesses, particularly any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) to contact Buncrana Garda Station, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any garda station.
Community ‘raw with grief’
Carndonagh Parish Priest Fr Con McLaughlin said words are not adequate to express how people in the community are feeling.
He described the scene at Altnagelvin Hospital as “something I’ll never forget”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne, Fr McLaughlin said there is shock and disbelief locally.
“Pain is no stranger to the people of Inishowen as there have been so, so many tragic deaths,” he said.
“Once again, tragedy has struck our people and I’m quite sure it revives many painful memories for many people in Inishowen, as indeed it does for me”.
Earlier, local Sinn Féin Councillor Albert Doherty said the community was “raw with grief” at the news.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, he said the road is very busy and is a direct route to north Inishowen from both the Letterkenny area and Derry.
He said the community was also left in shock earlier this year after the death of a young man in a road crash.
“Locally, here in Carndonagh, this year, we had the tragic loss of a young man. And here again, now a local family are having to face the terrible, terrible burden of losing a loved one,” he said.
“Those who were taken to Altnagelvin, we do hope there’s a full recovery and we do offer to the family and the extended family our full support as a community.”
