Road Death Rises

TWO people lost their lives on Co Kildare’s roads over the holiday period, while the county recorded a third victim with the death of a young Celbridge man in Co Westmeath. The latest tragedies mean that a total of 15 people have now been killed on the county’s roads during 2011.
All of the accidents are under garda investigation and appeals for witnesses have been issued.
Tuesday last 27 December saw two fatal accidents on roads in the county, with a two-vehicle collision occurring on the Kilcullen-Athy road, just beyond Kilmeade, at 4.30pm.
That accident involved a collision between an SUV and a car driven by Mrs Teresa Kiely from Hollywood, West Wicklow, who suffered fatal injuries. Her 16-year old daughter, who was travelling with her in the car, was seriously injured and was taken to Naas Hospital.
The driver of the jeep, a man in his 30s, and his female passenger were also taken to Naas hospital and it is understood that while the driver had only minor injuries, his passenger was more seriously hurt in the collision.
Gardaí at Athy are appealing for witnesses to the accident, with Sgt Tom Harte stating that they would like to hear from anyone who travelled the road in question on Tuesday afternoon and might have seen either vehicle, or who witnessed the actual collision.
Shortly before 10pm on Tuesday night, a young Maynooth man in his 30s died after being struck by a car on the roadway at Baybush, Straffan. Austin (Ozzy) Noonan from Clonagh, Maynooth, was walking along the roadway at the time. It is understood that the female driver of the car was uninjured. Son of Kathleen and the late Patrick Noonan, Austin sadly leaves behind a young son, Jason, and is also mourned by his brothers, sister, his partner Linda and other relatives.
Following the fatal collision, the road was closed for a period to facilitiate garda forensic investigations.
This was the second pedestrian fatality to bring tragedy to a Co Kildare family during the holiday period, following the death in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, of young Celbridge man Aaron Moore earlier on the same day, Tuesday 27 December.
Aaron, aged 23, was struck by a car when walking on the Dublin-Sligo road just outside Mullingar at around 4.45pm that evening. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The son of Eamon and Brigid Moore, Aaron is also mourned by his brothers, sisters, wider family and friends. His funeral mass was at St Patrick’s Church in Celbridge on Thursday 29, with burial at Donacomper Cemetery afterwards.
The pedestrian deaths, in particular, are a blow to the efforts of Kildare Co Council and the garda who have been focusing attention on pedestrian safety as part of the annual road safety campaign.
The death of 15 people on the county’s roads this year is undoubtedly disappointing for KCC Road Safety Officer Declan Keogh and for the garda given that the figure nationally continues to fall.
Following the latest tragedies, Road Safety Officer Declan Keogh said: “These latest road fatalities can only be described as tragic, sad and awful, and receiving this news at any time during the year is bad enough, but more so at Christmas time.”
He continued: “It is a very difficult time for these families right now and I don’t believe that their Christmases will ever be the same again. I would ask people to think about these collisions. People should ask themselves: ‘Could this be me?’ And the answer of course is yes, it could. When you take to the road, you become vulnerable, and the roads have no mercy. So please, always take extreme care when using the roads.”
Mr Keogh extended his sympathies to the families of these latest victims and expressed the hope that 2012 will be a far better year for everyone concerned.
Meanwhile, the pedestrian safety initiative begun as part of the new Road Safety campaign is continuing. Kildare Co Council has issued over one thousand high visibility vests to members of the public, publicans in rural areas, businesses and garda district headquarters across the county over the Christmas period as part of the joint campaign being run by the council and the garda.
This will continue into the new year, while the road safety promotions vehicle has also been very active across the county over the Christmas and new year period, and the response has been very positive.