Two men have died in an early-morning crash in Co Carlow after the car in which they were travelling struck a tree.
The single-vehicle crash took place on the N80 in Leagh, Rathoe, at about 1.15am.
The man who was driving and a male passenger, both in their 20s, were pronounced dead at the scene.
Two other passengers, a man and woman in their 20s, were taken to St Luke’s General Hospital in Kilkenny with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
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It is understood the four people in the car are part of the Indian community in Carlow and work in the local pharmaceutical company MSD.
They share a house in the local area. All four recently finished third level education at South East Technological University (SETU) in Carlow.
“A black Audi A6 was travelling towards Carlow town when it traversed the road and hit a tree at Graiguenaspiddoge,” said Supt Anthony Farrell from Carlow Garda station said.
“The car is believed to have travelled from the direction of the Mount Leinster area, through Fenagh and on to Carlow.
“The road will remain closed until this afternoon. A full technical examination will take place today. All of those in the car are part of our Indian community living together in Carlow town. Our sincere sympathies are extended to the community at this time.
“Gardaí are aware of a number of images being posted on social media following the collision. It is not helpful to the garda investigation but more importantly to a family and friends who are mourning the loss of a loved one. I would ask those people to take the images down immediately.”
The N80 at Leagh will remain closed for a number of hours as Garda forensic collision investigators examine the scene. Local diversions are in place.
Gardaí are appealing for any witnesses to come forward.
Any road users who may have camera footage, including dashcam footage, and were travelling along this route, or who were on the N80 at Leagh between midnight and 1.15am are asked to make this footage available to gardaí.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Carlow Garda station on 059 913 6620, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.
It is understood the four people involved met at Nine Stones car park on Mount Leinster a couple of hours before the crash. The meeting spot straddles the counties of Carlow and Wexford.
The crash occurred on the first anniversary of the deaths of three friends killed in another fatal collision along the same stretch of road.
Katie Graham (19) from Arles in Co Laois, Daryl Culbert (21) from Kiltegan in Co Wicklow and Michael Kelly (25) from Nurney in Co Carlow all died in a car crash in Carlow on Wednesday, January 31st, 2024.
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That single-vehicle crash occurred on the N80 near The Fighting Cocks pub and restaurant in Nurney.
The N80 is known as an accident black spot and is extremely busy due to freight traffic coming to and from the M9 on to Rosslare Europort.
A memorial run is to be held this Sunday in their memory, beginning at 10am in the Leinster Co-op Mart car park.
Speaking in Cork, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was “shocked” by news of the crash.
“We have to double down and work extremely hard on safety and on roads. There are a number of factors to that and that will be a priority of the new Minister for Transport.
“I am certainly going to give it a lot of attention in terms of capacity for the Road Safety Authority and clarity in terms of its roles and functions but we cannot lose momentum in terms of the road safety issue,” he said.
Local Fianna Fáil councillor John Pender said the bend where the crash took place “can be difficult to navigate”.
“Carlow County Council has improved parts of that particular part of the road over the last several months with signage,” he said.
Cllr Pender said the council has submitted plans to An Bord Pleanála to realign the road but it may be some time before those upgrades can be completed.
“The plan is to upgrade the road from Glynn’s Cross close to the Fighting Cocks up to the Tinryland roundabout. The council is waiting to hear back from An Bord Pleanála about whether the upgrades will get the go-ahead. Then the process of tendering etc will have to be carried out,” he said.
“What is really needed is a motorway as that is an extremely busy road due to heavy traffic coming from, and going to, Rosslare Purport. Every single junction and entrance along it is very dangerous, especially if a vehicle is turning right. Action needs to be taken sooner rather than later on this.”
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