Cyclist in her 30s dies after collision with truck

A FEMALE cyclist was killed yesterday in the latest tragedy on the country’s roads.

The woman, in her late 30s, became the fifth cyclist to die in Ireland in 2017 following a collision with a truck at a roundabout at the junction of Templeville Road and Wellington Road in Terenure, south Dublin, shortly after 2pm yesterday.

“I heard a bang when I was gardening outside my home. I looked up and saw a lorry had appeared to have swerved. Then I saw the woman lying on the ground,” said a local mothe-rof-three, who ran to help her.

“Several people tried to help. At one point I held her hand. I think another off-duty nurse came on the scene fairly quickly,” she said.

“I remember saying a prayer over her and asking God to save her,” she said.

The woman, who was from Dublin, was brought to Tallaght Hospital but was later pronounced dead.

Meanwhile, tributes have been paid to a well-known Limerick sportsman killed in a cycling collision on Sunday.

Des Butler (50) died while training to take part in next week’s Stephen Roche Atlantic Cycle Challenge.

He had been cycling past Junction 7 on the N18 in Clare near Ennis when he was involved in a collision with a camper van.

His son Rioghan Butler (19) described his father as “my hero” in an online tribute.

The recent tragedies have fuelled concern about the number of cyclists involved in road collisions. Figures show that 30 cyclists were killed between 2011 and 2015.

Between 2010 and 2014, there was a 320pc increase – up from five to 21 – in the number of cyclists presenting to the National Spinal Injuries Unit. “There is a worry about the number of cyclists being seriously injured, which has increased over the last five years,” a Road Safety Authority spokesman said.