FUNERAL CARNAGE
»»Horror as priest’s car collides with mourners »»two men critical with bodies ‘lying everywhere’
A PRIEST’S car collided with mourners ahead of a funeral, leaving two people fighting for life and another five injured.
The horror crash happened at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Clondalkin, North Dublin, at around 10.20am yesterday.
The funeral Mass of dad-of-three David Breach, who died suddenly last Wednesday, was about to take place.
Two men who were critically injured in the incident were taken to St James’s, while others went to nearby hospitals.
It is understood around 20 people were close to the car when the impact occurred and a number were trapped under the motor.
One onlooker said he believed if the vehicle had not struck a wall, more could have been seriously injured.
One witness described seeing a mass of bodies scattered across the scene and said: “There was people on the ground, one under the car, all around the place.
“The fire brigade and ambulance, they got out of the back of their vehicles and ran up as fast as they could and responded really quick.
SHOCKING
“There was bodies everywhere, it’s shocking.”
Mairead Mcnulty, from Walkinstown Co Dublin, told the Irish Mirror: “The people just started running. Most people, I think, thought it was a bomb – that’s how loud it was.
“First I heard a bang, then everybody running and I walked over to see and then I saw bodies on the ground.”
The car, a white Toyota, had been driving around the side of the church at the time of the crash.
The driver, named only as Fr Dempsey, a visiting priest, was helping to celebrate Mr Breach’s funeral.
Parish administrator Fr Padraig O’sullivan last night told the Irish Mirror: “Unfortunately the car went into a group of people who were standing nearby.
“Two of them were pretty seriously injured and the others not so serious, but serious enough to be taken by ambulance to Tallaght Hospital and the local hospitals.
“I don’t know who the injured people are, but whether they were visitors or regulars here in our parish there are plenty of people who are going to have a sleepless night tonight and are sick with worry.
“The injured and their families are in our thoughts and prayers.
“The priest who was driving the car was here for the funeral, he’s not one of our priests here. Maureen Mcnulty Churchgoers speak to paramedics Fr Damien Farnan [the local parish priest] attended to people at the scene. You don’t want people to have an experience like this. “Unfortunately I think it is a hazard with car parks. “Generally when they’re busy you get groups of people standing around talking and you get quite a few cars coming and going. “Most of the time things go well but an accident can happen very easily.” Fianna Fail TD John Curran was among the mourners who witnessed the crash.
He said: “I was at the church door when I could hear the commotion and I looked around and the car had obviously got out of control.
“I saw a number of people lying on the ground under the car.
“It had driven against the wall so the people were caught and trapped under the vehicle at the wall.
“Everybody rushed to help and called the emergency services. No one could get the person out from under the vehicle, they were afraid to move anyone because it was quite serious. There was absolute shock. It happened just before 10am when the hearse was coming around the village.
“People were shocked by it.”
A man who was just several feet away from the incident said the vehicle hit a parked car before swerving away into a nearby wall.
He told the Irish Mirror the priest’s vehicle smashed into visibly the wall, hitting several people and trapping one man underneath.
He added: “When people rushed to rescue the trapped victim, the plastic bumper would not allow them to lift the frame of the car.
“People tried to lift the car, but because it’s a Hybrid it had a plastic bumper which came off.”
Another witness said: “It ran into the wall and struck a few people between him and the wall and then
DUBLIN YESTERDAY
Most people thought it was a bomb – they just started running MAIREAD MCNULTY