Teenager dies in three-car crash at accident blackspot
A TEENAGER died and a woman was seriously injured in a horrific three-vehicle collision on a notorious accident blackspot that has claimed several lives over the years.
The 18-year-old, who was a front-seat passenger in a black Peugeot hatchback, was killed in the crash around midday yesterday on the N11 just outside Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, in an area known as Scarawalsh.
The 52-year-old driver, who shares the same surname as the victim and is believed to be a relative, was airlifted to Tallaght Hospital in Dublin, where she was listed in serious condition last night.
It is understood they are from nearby New Ross.
Two other vehicles, including a van and a pick-up truck, were involved in the collision.
However neither drivers, nor the passenger in the van, suffered life-threatening injuries but were treated for minor injuries at the scene.
Local Sinn Féin councillor Johnny Mythen, from Enniscorthy, said the town was left reeling by the horrific accident.
“It’s a tragedy for the family involved. A lovely fine day like today and their whole life has been turned around. It’s the last kind of phone call anyone wants to get. The whole town is in shock,” he said.
“I understand there was a man from the town involved also and hopefully he’ll be OK.”
The accident occurred on the main N11 thoroughfare between Enniscorthy and Dublin at Scarawalsh.
The area, located 5km north of Enniscorthy, has gained a reputation as an accident blackspot following similar tragedies going back well over a decade.
In 2006, local TD Paul Kehoe, now the junior Defence Minister, urged the Transport Department to install a roundabout at the former junction of the N11 due to a spate of both fatal and serious accidents in the area over the years.
While a roundabout was installed in 2008, there were numerous reports of drivers skidding on the southbound approach to the roundabout, prompting authorities to issue a 55kmh ‘voluntary’ speed limit at the roundabout in 2013.
However, two years later a man was killed in a collision on the same stretch of road between Ferns and Enniscorthy.
In July 2003, a teenage couple and their four-month-old baby were tragically killed when their car collided with a truck that was fully laden with gravel on the N11 Wexford to Rosslare road at Scarawalsh.
Conor Martin (18), a barman from Marshallstown, Enniscorthy, his girlfriend Emma Conroy (17), from Pearse Road in Enniscorthy, who had just completed her Leaving Cert, and their infant daughter Chloe were all killed instantly when their blue Opel Corsa car collided with a truck from a quarry.
That accident also took place at lunchtime when the couple were travelling from Gorey with their baby strapped into a baby seat in the back of the car.
The car and truck were travelling in opposite directions when the collision occurred around 12.30pm.
The previous weekend, a car and two motorcyclists were involved in a serious collision at Scarawalsh, where four members of a family from Enniscorthy also died in a previous collision.