Tragedy on our roads... Boy (5) and young man (20s) killed in separate road collisions
It has been another devastating weekend on our country's roads following the death of a five-year-old boy in a crash in Co Laois and the death of a young man in a collision involving a quad bike and a motorcycle in Co Westmeath.
The child who died was hit by a car in the Kilminchy area of Portlaoise at about 4.20pm yesterday afternoon.
He was rushed to Portlaoise Regional Hospital, but pronounced dead a short time later.
The driver, a woman in her 40s, was not injured.
The road was closed overnight with a technical examination carried out by Garda forensic collision investigators this morning (Sunday).
Gardaí are appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident or has dashcam footage from the area to come forward.
Any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and were travelling in Kilminchy, Portlaoise, Co Laois between 4pm and 5pm this afternoon are asked to make this footage available to investigating gardaí.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Portlaoise Garda Station on 057 867 4100, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.
Separately, a man in his 20s was killed and two other men injured after a quad bike and motorcycle crashed in Co Westmeath.
The incident took place at Ballynascarry, Finea, Co Westmeath, at around 3.30pm on Saturday 22nd February.
The man aged in his 20s – the driver of the quad bike – was pronounced dead at the scene.
His body was removed to the mortuary in Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar.
A postmortem examination is due to take place.
The motorcycle rider, a man aged in his 20s, is in a critical condition in the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital.
The male passenger of the quad bike, aged in his 20s, was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
No other injuries were reported.
The road was closed overnight and a technical examination is due to be carried out by Garda forensic collision investigators today (Sunday) afternoon.
Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed this collision to contact them.