Two people hospitalised after school bus overturns on Longwood/ Trim road as local Cllr calls for safety measures

Two people have been taken to hospital following following an accident on the Trim to Longwood road yesterday.

A bus carrying primary school children from Boardsmill NS overturned and went into a ditch with some passengers suffering minor injuries.

The incident is understood to have happened on the R160 at the townland of Ardanew between Trim and Longwood at approximately 3.20 yesterday.

A Garda spokesperson said members were on the scene alongside Meath Fire Service with units from Navan and Trim in attendance along with Ambulance crews.

Gardaí are appealing for witnesses and anyone with dashcam footage to contact Trim Garda Station.

In an email message sent yesterday evening, Scoil Naomh Bhride principal, James Battersby assured anxious parents that everyone involved in the incident was "safe and well".

"As some of you may be aware, one of the school buses was involved in an accident after school today. I want to assure you that everyone is safe and well."

Meanwhile Trim Aontú Cllr Dave Boyne has asked how many deaths on Meath’s roads will it take to wake the Council up.

Cllr Boyne says he is seriously worried about the lack of safety measures on the county’s rural roads in the light of yet another near miss on what he describes as a “notorious stretch Brannockstown Cross and Ardenue Cross”.

Cllr Boyne says.

“A school bus full of children, was involved in a serious near miss this week. The road the bus was travelling on leads on to the lethal Ardenew Cross, where many fatal incidents have occurred, due in the main to lack of speed reduction measures, and lack of visibility. It is only a matter of time before it happens again, and the consequences don’t bear thinking about”.

“Many accidents have happened along here over the decades, as the road is significantly higher than the land either side. Despite this, no barriers or hard shoulders have ever been put in place. Similarly on the Hill-Of-Down railway bridge, there is a massive drop exposed on one side, without any protection”.

“As recently as the last Trim Municipal District meeting, I called for traffic calming measures on the approaches to every town and village, every Church, every school, every bridge. I asked that it be adapted county-wide. This is on record”.

“The safety of people travelling on our rural roads must be paramount and the Council has a complete duty of care to ensure it takes their safety seriously .I will keep looking for vital road safety measures until the Council installs them”.