FAMILY GRIEVES OVER TEEN’S CRASH DEATH ANXIOUS VIGILS FOR FRIENDS IN HOSPITAL
family of an 18-year-old man who died in a crash in Co Down at the weekend have described their devastation at the loss of the young joiner.
Dawid Blenski from Warrenpoint died after the car he was driving crashed on the Hilltown Road in Kilcoo shortly before 2.30am on Saturday.
Four other teenagers — Richard Weir (18), Fionnan Cooper (17), Cara Grant (16) and Sophie Mulvenna (15) — were in the car and were all taken to hospital after the accident.
The families of the four young people all provided an update on their conditions.
Richard, also from Warrenpoint, was reported as in a critical but stable condition in Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital.
Fionnan, who lives in Rostrevor, has returned home.
St Mark’s High School pupils Cara and Sophie, both from Warrenpoint, underwent surgery.
Yesterday Dawid’s family said: “We are just devastated and there are no words to explain what happened.
“We are thinking of the other families at this horrible time.”
Dawid moved here from Poland in 2007 and grew up in the port town, where he was very well-known.
The teenager lived with his mother, stepfather and three younger brothers.
His father flew to Northern
Ireland on Sunday to attend his funeral, which will be held at St Mary’s Church, Burren, today at 12pm.
Dawid studied joinery at Southern Regional College’s Newry Greenbank Training Centre and was doing an apprenticeship.
He worked in JC Joinery ConTHE
tracts in Kilkeel and was in his second year of training.
The talented young man recently came first in a skill bills competition involving all of Northern Ireland’s training colleges.
Richard’s loved ones stated that he is currently in intensive care in the Royal.
Sophie’s family said she is in intensive care, had undergone “numerous” surgeries, and remains in a critical but stable condition.
“She is now awake and is speaking and is also receiving one-to-one care,” added the Mulvenna family.
Both the Weir and Mulvenna families said they had not left their hospital bedsides.
The Grant family explained that Cara also remains in the Royal.
They added: “She has been moved to a ward following interventions and is awaiting further surgery. She also remains under constant supervision.”
Meanwhile, the Coopers passed on their well-wishes to all of the other families involved in the weekend crash at “this very sad and tragic time”.
A friend of the Blenski family, Sylwia Menzyk, passed on her appreciation to all of those who have supported Dawid’s loved ones since the accident.
“We would like to publicly thank the emergency services who attended the scene and the doctors continuing to treat the survivors,” she said.
“We wish to send our thoughts and well-wishes to the other young people affected and their families at this extremely difficult time for everyone involved.”
St Mark’s High School, where all the victims of the crash were either past or present pupils, opened on Monday during halfterm to allow pupils to “pray for current and past pupils who had been injured in the crash”.
Counsellors were also present to help the young people come to terms with what happened.