2009 pile-up proves Slane dangers still exist, say locals

Slane residents who were caught up in a terrifying accident in the village last year which involved two trucks and five cars have hit out at opponents to the route of the proposed Slane bypass who have pointed out that nobody was killed there since traffic-calming measures were introduced in 2002. They point out it was a miracle nobody was killed in last year's horrific accident which saw a HGV plough into the rear of another smaller truck which, in turn, collided with five cars. They also point out there were many other very serious incidents in the village over the past eight years, including several in which vehicles plunged into the Boyne at the bridge. Meanwhile, the deadline for public submissions to Bord Pleanala on the project is this day week, Wednesday 17th February. Opposents of the proposed bypass have accused the NRA and Meath County Council of 'rigging' the planning process by restricting access to the full environmental impact statement (EIS). Vincent Salafia of the Save Newgrange campaign pointed out that only a short summary of the EIS was available online and the full EIS could only be purchased from the NRA Design Office in Navan at a cost of €80 per printed version, and €10 euro for the CD version. Meanwhile, Meath native and Dublin resident, John Farrelly, said that since Slane adopted traffic controlling measures in 2002, not one single person had died on the roads there and that there had been only a few minor accidents. He said in a letter to this newspaper that if this is the case, it must make the area one of the safest traffic areas in Ireland and that 'invented dead' were used to build a road that was neither wanted, needed or affordable. However, residents of Slane village point out that they live with terrible danger every day and while nobody was killed in the accident last March, they were incredibly lucky that there weren't several deaths that morning. Niamh " Broin, who was involved in the accident, said that if things had happened slightly differently that morning, she wouldn't be here today. "There was a heavy goods vehicle coming down the hill, unable to stop and the driver crashed into the back of another truck, which was parked in the village. "The second truck took most of the impact and, if it hadn't been there, there is no doubt there would have been several deaths," she said. As it was, there were several injuries, cars were overturned and one woman had to be cut from her vehicle. In her statement to an Oireachtais Committee on the issue, another survivor of that crash, Norma Keeley, spoke of seeing the truck coming towards them, knowing they were going to be hit and knowing there was absolutely nothing they could do. "I will never forget the shock, fear and panic we felt in those few minutes," she said in her submission.