Safety review of Co Down road urged after father-of-three dies in collision

OFFICIALS have been urged to review safety on one of Northern Ireland’s main roads after a fatal crash.

The accident happened outside Ballynahinch, Co Down, around 7.15pm on Thursday evening.

The victim is understood to be a 57-year-old father-of-three.

He was the driver of a blue Peugeot 308 which was in collision with a Volvo lorry.

South Down MP Chris Hazzard said the Carryduff to Ballynahinch stretch of the Belfast Road had claimed a number of lives down the years, including a member of his own family.

Mr Hazzard, who passed the scene of the accident on his way home after a day at Westminster, said the wider community was in shock.

He added that his thoughts were with the victim’s family.

Mr Hazzard said: “My own family suffered a tragedy on this stretch 10 years ago. A primary schoo1 teacher was also killed on it, and there are a number of sites where families have left flowers.

“It’s a big, wide, open road used by all sorts of traffic including school buses, he said. “But there have been deaths on it and I am going to be raising this with road officials.”

DUP councillor Craig Garth said he was “shocked and saddened” at the news.

“I really feel for the family at this sad time,” he added.

Police, meanwhile, are appealing to anyone who was travelling on the road and saw the collision, or anyone who saw the blue Peugeot before the crash, to contact them. They are also appealing to drivers who have a dash cam fitted to their vehicle to check their footage.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 1100 of 26/04/18.

A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said a rapid response paramedic and an A&E crew attended the collision.

Another male was assessed and treated at the scene by the paramedic and later taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast with non-life threatening injuries.

So far this year 11 people have died in accidents on Northern Ireland’s roads — down from 17 at the same point in 2017.