Two Polish men among four killed on roads at weekend

FOUR MEN, including two motorcyclists, were killed in three separate road crashes at the weekend.Their deaths bring the number killed on the roads this year to 34.

A man in his early 20s died shortly before 6pm yesterday when his motorcycle collided with a car at Newcastle, Ardfinnan, Co Tipperary. No one else was injured in the crash. Separately in Tipperary two Polish men, aged 22 and 28, were killed when their car hit a pole on the Roscrea road (N62) just outside Templemore shortly before midnight on Saturday.

Both men were pronounced dead at the scene. The crash happened on the same stretch of road where two 17-year-olds were killed in a two-car collision in October 2006. The road has been described as “inherently dangerous” by Conor Faughnan of AA Roadwatch.

“The N62 is part of the primary road network yet it is a single-lane carriageway which is inherently dangerous. It’s just 14 metres wide and carries around 4,000 cars per day.”

The National Roads Authority (NRA) was investing in changing these roads to “two-plus-one” carriageways, Mr Faughnan said, where there is dual-carriageway on one side and single on the other, with a swap over approximately every five kilometres.

However, he said that until such time as these upgrades were complete motorists would still try to overtake on single-lane roads.

“I don’t know the circumstances of these two men’s deaths, but where there are single lanes there is an inherent danger, and that’s the nature of the Irish road network.”

Earlier on Saturday 35-year-old motorcyclist Michael McInerney originally from Caher in east Clare but who had been living in Ennis, was killed when he crashed his bike into a ditch. The crash happened on the main Ennis to Kildysart Road at Ballaghafadda West near Clarecastle shortly before 1pm. He was pronounced dead shortly after being rushed by ambulance to Ennis General Hospital.

The R473 was closed for several hours on Saturday as crash scene investigators carried out an examination of the area. The motorcycle was taken to Ennis Garda station, where a further examination will be carried out.

The head of the Garda Traffic Corps in the Clare division, Insp John Galvin, has appealed for any witnesses to Saturday’s collision to come forward. A postmortem was expected to be carried out early today at the Mid Western regional hospital in Limerick.

In the North on Saturday, four men were injured when the car they were travelling in hit a parked van.

Police said the men were in a Honda Civic that hit an unoccupied van at Princess Gardens in Cloughmills, Co Antrim, just before midnight.

One of the men, all believed to be in their 20s, is in a serious condition in hospital. Another was being treated for broken ribs, while the others escaped with minor injuries.The PSNI has appealed for witnesses.