A woman in her 30s has died following a two-vehicle collision in Co Donegal, marking the fifth fatal road accident in the county in just 13 days. This latest tragedy has sparked renewed calls for road safety awareness in the region.
The collision happened at Carrowkeel, Quigley's Point in Muff at approximately 11.15pm on Friday night, September 6. A female back-seat passenger in one of the cars suffered fatal injuries in the collision, and her body has since been removed from the scene to Letterkenny University Hospital, where a post-mortem will be conducted in due course.
The driver of that car, a woman aged in her 70s, and a male front-seat passenger, aged in his 50s, were transported from the scene to Altnagelvin in Co Derry and Letterkenny University Hospitals respectively, where they are being treated for non-life threatening injuries.
The driver of the second vehicle, a male aged in his teens, was uninjured in the collision.
The road remains closed this morning to allow for a full technical examination by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators, with local diversions in place for motorists.
Gardai have now launched an appeal for witnesses, particularly those who may have dash-cam footage of the area around the time of the crash, to make contact with authorities.
A spokesperson for An Garda Siochana said: "Gardaí are appealing for any witnesses to this collision to come forward. Gardaí are also appealing for any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) who were travelling in the area at the time of the collision to make this footage available to Gardaí."
"Anyone with any information is asked to contact Buncrana Garda Station on 074 932 0540, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station."
The victim has been named locally as Donna McDermott from the coastal village of Greencastle.
Ms McDermott, who previously worked in the local Centra Store in nearby Moville, was in her 30s and was a very well-liked person locally. The death of Ms McDermott has sent shockwaves through her local community and across the Inishowen peninsula.
“Donna was so thoughtful, helpful and supportive when we were establishing the community Defibrillator. The GDA sends our love, strength, thoughts, and prayers to Donna's family, friends and wider community.”
The latest tragedy brings to FIVE the number of people who have been killed on Donegal’s roads in less than two weeks. And Ms McDermott’s death means that 13 people have now perished on the county’s roads so far this year compared to 10 for ALL of last year. The road at Carrowkeel remains closed today as Gardaí continue their investigations into the tragic crash with local diversions in place. Anyone with information in relation to the crash, or dashcam footage of the incident, has been asked to contact Gardaí.
The road at Carrowkeel, Quigley's Point, Muff remains closed to allow for a technical examination of the scene by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators and local diversions put in place.
The latest crash marks another sad chapter for road safety in Donegal. Since August 24th, a total of FIVE people have now been killed on the county’s roads in four separate accidents. The dead include cousins Kian (16) and Eoghan (20) Dawson, Elizabeth Cave (87) and Patricia McBrearty (80s) who have all perished in recent days.
The death of Ms McDermott comes after four other road traffic victims were laid to rest within a week of each other. St Johnston pensioner Patricia McBrearty lost her life when she was struck by a lorry just yards from her home on Church Street and her funeral took place on Wednesday. Cousins Kian Dawson-Kirk and Eoghan Dawson, who was aged 20, died following a single-vehicle collision at Quigley's Point on August 24 – not far from where Ms McDermott was killed. Kian died at the scene while Eoghan passed away days later in hospital. Eoghan was laid to rest on Monday on what would have been his 21st birthday. On August 25, three people were taken to hospital following a two-vehicle collision at Inver and one of them, 87-year-old Elizabeth Cave, passed away at Sligo University Hospital.
With still close to a third of the year still to go, the total number killed on Donegal's roads in 2024, 13, is already three more than in the whole of last year.
Outgoing chairperson of the Donegal Joint Policing Committee and Donegal County Councillor, Gerry McMonagle, has said Donegal is a special case because of its isolation and proximity to the border and must be treated as such.
He firstly extended his sympathy to the latest road victim’s family and to all those who have died recently. He said “Donegal has had more than its fair share of tragedy in recent years and again in recent weeks.
“This is another one of those dark days and all we can do is to think of this young young woman and her family and all those touched by tragedy on our roads in recent days.”
However Councillor McGonagle said people must continue to remain vigilant at all times on Donegal’s roads which he said “must be treated as a special case.”
“The reality is that Donegal is a very rural county which has a higher-than normal volume of traffic because of its proximity to the border.
“There is no public transport as such because there is no railway and the bus services are hit and miss at best. People use cars a lot in Donegal and again the reality is that Donegal is a vast web of secondary roads.
“But having said all that people must continue to exercise caution when on these roads. They should never drink and drive, they should always observe the speed limit and that does not mean driving at eighty kilometres per hour if the speed limit is eighty kilometres per hour.
“We must continue to educate our young people about the dangers of the roads in our schools because it is all we can do.
“We have to continue to hit home with the message that all these factors can lead to tragedy on our roads.”
