LAST UPDATE | 27 Mar

THE BODIES OF the woman and two children killed in a crash in Co Mayo yesterday have been taken to hospital.

The woman and two young girls were in a car on the N17 at Castlegar near Claremorris when they were fatally injured in a crash involving an articulated truck around 2pm.

Gardaí have said that the bodies of the deceased were taken to Mayo University Hospital.

Garda Forensic Collision Investigators were called to conduct an examination of the scene and the road was closed in both directions. It was set to reopen this morning.

Speaking to reporters this morning, Fine Gael Leader Simon Harris said that yesterday was an “extraordinarily dark, devastating day for people in Co Mayo and indeed for our country where we saw the loss of five lives in one county, with the woman and two girls in the car crash and two people in a fire”.

“I want to begin today by extending my sympathies to all of the families and friends of those we lost yesterday,” he said.

“I do know that at a time of tragedy, our country and our community never fail to rally in support of people in their grief.

“On wider road safety issues, this is something I want to take a very active interest in. I am very conscious of the fact that we are losing far too many lives on our roads.”

Gardaí are appealing for any witnesses to yesterday’s collision to come forward and for anyone with camera footage, such as from a dash cam, to make it available to gardaí.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Claremorris Garda Station on 094 9372080, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any other garda station.

Official garda statistics last updated on Monday morning show that gardaí had recorded 49 road fatalities up to that point this year.

The figure includes 21 drivers, 15 passengers, nine pedestrians, three motorcyclists and one cyclist.

In comparison, there were 42 road deaths during the same period in 2023.