POLICE ARE appealing to drivers across Northern Ireland to be extremely cautious over the Easter break following the deaths of three men in two separate incidents on Thursday.
Two men were killed when two lorries were involved in a head-on crash between Omagh and Newtownstewart in Co Tyrone during the early evening.
The victims were Shane Caldwell (20), from Strabane, Co Tyrone, and foreign national Zoltan Szabo (26), who had been living in Sion Mills, Co Tyrone.
Mr Caldwell was driving one of the lorries while Mr Szabo was a passenger in the other. The driver of that vehicle was seriously injured and is being treated in Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry. He is reported to be in a stable condition.
Bridgewater Construction, Mr Szabo's employer, said it was devastated by his death and had been in contact with his family.
Fr Peter McLaughlin, a local priest who spoke to Mr Szabo's friends on Friday, said communication problems were "making a bad situation worse".
Later that night a 56-year-old pedestrian died after he was struck by a Renault Clio while walking along the Ballynamony Road in Lurgan, Co Armagh. Police are appealing for witnesses to contact them. He has not yet been named.
There were 23 road deaths in the North so far this year, slightly less than the 26 deaths recorded at this time last year, and the 27 deaths to this date in 2006. There were 112 road fatalities there in 2007 compared with 126 in 2006.
PSNI inspector Roy Robinson yesterday requested that drivers be especially careful over the Easter holiday.