MUM WHO LOST SON IN A1 ROAD CRASH CALLS FOR NEW SAFETY MEASURES
THE mother of a young man killed on the A1 earlier this year has called for more to be done to make the road safer.
Karl Heaney (27) from Warrenpoint in Co Down died in the crash between Banbridge and Dromore in May.
His mother Monica has urged politicians and the Department for Infrastructure to improve the road in the wake of another crash that claimed two lives.
Raymond Halliday (87) and his stepdaughter Anna Dodds (47) died after the three-vehicle collision on the outskirts of Newry on October 12.
Ms Heaney was moved by the tragedy to take to social media, saying she was “so angry” at another fatal accident.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, she said she wanted her appeal for safety improvements to be heard by as many people as possible.
GAA player Karl was travelling home from training when his car was in a collision with another vehicle. He had been due to start a teaching course in London.
Ms Heaney said that after the latest deaths she wanted to raise awareness about the dangers of the A1 while highlighting the need for action.
“We’ve had no contact from anyone regarding Karl’s accident,” the heartbroken mother said.
“When the accident happened
last Friday night (October 12), I just put some comments on social media because I was so angry.
“Newspapers were contacting me but I’m sure there’s MLAs and MPs and councillors that must be reading through social media. But nobody has felt the
need to contact us to say: ‘What can we do to help?’
“I’ve only recently started to shout about it, hoping now that it’s in the newspapers more that we will get a response from elected representatives who are willing to help us get something sorted with this road.
“I don’t want any other family to have to go through that horrendous feeling that something can be avoided.”
Five months on from her own tragedy, Ms Heaney said she’s still grieving.
“Things aren’t getting any easier. That’s because there’s been
no real answers. It’s so pointless, such a waste of a young life,” she said.
“There’s already a woman that has contacted me. Her son died on that road and I’m going to try and find who the others are who died on that road because when I hear a lot of their stories, I’ll know the design of that road will be a contributing factor to a lot of the accidents on that road.
“That’s not to excuse people’s bad driving. We all have to drive carefully regardless of the state of the road, but if the design of the road is better, that at least might cut the risk.”
In 2015 three young friends were killed while travelling to Newry. The previous year two nuns, Sisters Marie Duddy and Frances Forde, were killed in a collision.
The Department for Infrastructure said: “We are currently developing proposals to further improve road safety for all road users on the A1.
“The current A1 Junctions Phase 2 road improvement scheme proposals aim to deliver further safety improvements over the 25km stretch of the A1 dual carriageway between Hillsborough and Loughbrickland.”
It said improvements including installing a safety barrier and closing some gaps along the road were still being considered.