Two dead in crash involving bus, lorry and car in Co Meath

Two people have died and several others have been injured after a crash involving a lorry, bus and car in Co Meath.

The driver of the lorry, who was a man in his 40s, and the driver of the bus, in his 50s, were pronounced dead at the scene in Gormanston on Monday morning.

The car driver – a woman in her 40s – and a teenage girl who was a passenger of the car were taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The woman was brought to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin and the girl was first admitted to our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda before being transferred to Temple Street Children’s Hospital in Dublin.

A number of other people were also taken to hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

The crash took place at around 6.30am on the R132.

The road remained closed on Monday pending a forensic examination of the scene.

Bus Eireann said a bus on its 101 service was involved in the collision and its staff were at the scene.

Local councillor Sharon Tolan said she was “shocked and horrified” at the news of the crash on the busy commuter route.

She said the Bus Eireann 101 service is the main route from Dundalk to Dublin, and said it would be used to take children to school and workers to Balbriggan.

“It just seems to be every day of the week we’re hearing of accidents,” she said, speaking to media near the scene.

“Whether they’re fatalities that make the news headlines or they’re tips and bumps on our local roads, every single day there seems to be more road traffic accidents.

“I don’t know what the answer is, but something really, really needs to be done to address it.

“We need to do something to get to grips with this because it just seems to be on a daily basis now that we are losing our children, our loved ones, our neighbours, our friends on our roads and that has got to stop.”

Local senator Sharon Keogan said it marked “another dark day on our roads here, particularly in Meath and Louth”.

“I think that sirens could be heard locally here at about 6.15am. It’s just awful.”

The crash took place after the funerals of four young people who were killed in a crash in Dundalk, Co Louth last weekend.

The funerals of teacher Chloe McGee, 23, and plumber Shay Duffy, 21, who were both from Carrickmacross in Co Monaghan were held on Saturday.

The funerals of Ms McGee’s boyfriend Alan McCluskey, who was 23 and from Drumconrath in Co Meath, and Dylan Commins, 23, from Ardee in Co Louth took place on Friday.

A fifth person, Chloe Hipson, 21, from Bellshill, Lanarkshire in Scotland, was also killed and three others were injured in the two-vehicle crash last weekend.

Gardai are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the collision in Gormonston to contact them.