Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to three road crashes in counties Donegal, Meath and Kildare, which claimed the lives of four men.
Yesterday morning’s crash in Co Donegal – in which two young men died – has possible links to a suspected robbery being investigated by gardaí.
A cash register, believed to have been taken from a bar, was found in the back seat of the car being driven by the two men who died at the scene of the head-on collision on the outskirts of Letterkenny.
A full investigation has been launched into the deaths of the men who have been named locally as Barney McGinley and Dermot Boyle, who were in their late teens and early 20s.
The men died after their grey Mitsubishi Charisma car struck a yellow Renault Master van on the main Letterkenny to Derry dual carriageway.
The incident occurred just after 4.45am yesterday.
Both men, whose car was travelling on the wrong side of the road, died instantly, while the driver of the van, a man in his 40s, was rushed to Letterkenny University Hospital.
His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
Gardaí are investigating possible links between the crash and a burglary at Rosie’s Bar in the nearby village of Drumkeen a short time earlier.
Incident
It is understood the young men who died in the crash may have panicked after a Garda patrol car did a U-turn on the road and passed them, but did not follow the men.
A statement from the Garda Ombudsman has said there were reports of Garda involvement in the incident which was being investigated.
Meanwhile, in Co Meath, a 42-year-old man died after a crash in Dunboyne when the car he was driving collided with another car on Tuesday night.
The man, who was alone in the car, was taken by ambulance to Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown where he was later pronounced dead.
The driver and four passengers in the second car were also taken to hospital.
Their injuries are not believed to be life threatening.
Another man died in a two-vehicle crash on the R407 Clane to Kilcock road near Baltracey, Donadea, in Co Kildare.
The man, in his 20s, was the sole occupant of a car that collided with a truck.
He was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was removed to Naas Hospital.
The driver of the truck was taken to Blanchardstown Hospital with what are described as minor injuries.
The recent deaths came hours after road safety chiefs warned of an increase in fatal collisions around the country.
The Garda and Road Safety Authority revealed on Tuesday an 8 per cent jump in road deaths on Irish roads since the same time last year.
