TEENAGE PALS DIE IN CRASH
Three male passengers left injured after car smashes into wall and tree
TWO teenage friends died in a crash yesterday just hours after a leading garda pleaded with motorists to be careful on the roads.
Nathan Fullerton and Nathan Farrell were fatally injured when their car hit a wall and then a tree around 3.30am outside Quigley’s Point on the Inishowen Peninsula, in Co Donegal.
One of the men was pronounced dead at the scene and the other died after being taken to Altnagelvin Area Hospital.
Three other young males in the vehicle were taken to hospital but their injuries are understood not to be life-threatening. All five were from the Buncrana area. Local Sinn Fein Senator Padraig Mac Lochlainn said he knew the dead boys’ families and he was devastated for them. He added: “Inishowen has suffered more than most as a result of tragedies on our roads. We have buried far too many of our young people.
“The entire community is devastated for someone so young to be taken from us. We’re all so weary of roads deaths.
“It just shows how fragile our young people are in cars.”
Garda forensic experts spent yesterday examining the area in a bid to determine what may have caused the crash.
The latest horror accident on the peninsula’s roads came after the head of the Donegal Garda Traffic Corps pleaded with motorists to take extra care. Inspt Michael Harrison had warned people of Gardai at Quigley’s Point extra volumes of traffic on the roads over the Bank Holiday Weekend. Thousands of cross-border visitors traditionally travel to Donegal where many have holiday homes. Mr Harrison had said: “I am appealing to people to take extra care on the roads this weekend considering the high volume of traffic coming into the county.
“I am asking people to slow down, wear their seat belts and never to drive under the influence.”
Meanwhile, motorists have been warned not to drive while intoxicated this Bank Holiday Weekend.
The Road Safety Authority and the Garda are appealing for drivers to avoid taking alcohol or drugs.
Transport Minister Shane Ross said: “I would urge drivers to be aware of the effects of alcohol on their driving.
“Any amount of it can impair driving and increase the risk of a collision. This is not an opinion – it’s a scientific fact.”
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MOTORISTS should be extra vigilant this Bank Holiday Weekend as the roads will be extremely busy with people heading off to visit family and friends.
Tragically two young people have already lost their lives and three are in hospital following a crash in Donegal yesterday.
Teenagers Nathan Fullerton and Nathan Farrell died after their car struck a wall and then a tree at around 3.30am outside Quigley’s Point on the Inishowen Peninsula.
All five men were from the Buncrana area of the county. Already this year four people have died on Donegal’s roads, compared to just one this time last year.
Our thoughts go out to the family and friends of the boys and who are coming to terms with their terrible loss.
Separately, drivers are being urged not to get behind the wheel while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs.
Checkpoints are being set up across the country to catch those who are driving under the influence.
It is totally unacceptable to get behind the wheel after having a drink. Any amount of alcohol greatly increases your risk of crashing.
It is not worth risking either killing yourself, or taking the lives of others by boozing and then getting in your car.
Falling asleep at the wheel can also be a problem over the holidays, with people driving longer distances than usual.
Let’s all try our best to think before getting into our cars.