Pensioner, 68, driving tractor killed in early morning crash

A PENSIONER farmer was killed in a road collision in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The man, named locally as Willie Wilson, a 68-year-old single man, was killed when his tractor was in collision with a car near Manorcunningham, Co. Donegal.

The emergency services rushed to the scene but the elderly man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The male driver of the car was taken to hospital but his injuries were not understood last night to be life threatening.

Gardaí were yesterday trying to determine the cause of the crash on the N14 road between Lifford and Letterkenny, and appealed for witnesses to come forward.

Mr Wilson, who lived in Manorcunningham village, was described yesterday as a popular figure.

A neighbour of Mr Wilson said the entire community had ben left stunned by his sudden passing.

‘William went everywhere in that tractor,’ the neighbour said. ‘He was a quiet, single man who kept to himself and never did anyone any harm.

‘It’s just so sad to think that he died this way.’

Yesterday, as gardaí carried out a forensic examination at the scene of the crash, the road was closed and local diversions put in place.

The mayor of Donegal, councillor Gerry McMonagle, said the accident was a reminder of how dangerous our roads can be. ‘Every time we go out on the roads we take our life in our hands,’ he said. ‘While we do not know the circumstances of this tragedy, I would appeal to everybody to drive carefully at all times.’

Last year six people lost their lives on Donegal’s roads compared with ten fatalities the previous year, 2016.

Yesterday’s incident was the first road fatality in Co. Donegal this year.