Six-year-old girl dies following crash in Westmeath

A six-year-old girl has died following a single-vehicle crash in Co Westmeath earlier this month.

The girl, who was a passenger in the vehicle that crashed, leaving her seriously injured, was pronounced dead at Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street on Saturday, February 17th. The coroner has been notified and arrangements are being made for a postmortem examination.

The incident took place shortly before 4pm on Thursday, February 8th, on the M6 eastbound between junction 4 Tyrellspass and junction 3 Rochfortbridge in Co Westmeath. The driver, a man in his 40s, and a boy aged nine, who were also in the car, were not seriously injured in the crash.

Gardaí in Mullingar have renewed their appeal for witnesses of the incident to get in touch.

The girl’s death brings to 27 the number of people who have died on Irish roads so far this year.

Meanwhile, a man is in a serious condition after he was injured in a hit-and-run near Heuston Station in Dublin early on Sunday morning.

The male pedestrian, who is in his 20s, was struck by a car on St John’s Road West, near Heuston Station in Dublin 8 shortly after 4am on Sunday. The motorist, whose vehicle hit the man, fled the scene.

The injured man was taken by ambulance to nearby St James’s Hospital where he is being treated for serious injuries.

The scene at the busy Dublin thoroughfare by Heuston Station is under examination by local gardaí and traffic diversions remained in place on late Sunday morning.

Gardaí in Kilmainham are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the incident, has information about the hit-and-run, or any person with camera or dashcam footage of the location at the time, to contact Kilmainham Garda station at 01 6669700, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.

Sunday morning’s hit-and-run in Dublin follows the death of a man in his 20s in a single-vehicle crash on the N10 in Foulkstown, Co Kilkenny, early on Saturday morning.

The man’s body was transferred to Waterford University Hospital, where a postmortem will be conducted. Gardaí are also appealing for witnesses of this crash to come forward, including those who may have dashcam footage.

This weekend’s road incidents follow the death of a 15-year-old girl in Co Tipperary on Thursday. Leah O’Meara (15) from Thurles was a passenger in a car that collided with another vehicle.

The three other occupants of that car (a man in his 20s, a woman in her 20s, and another girl in her mid-teens) and the woman driving the second car were taken by ambulance to Limerick University Hospital for assessment. Their injuries are not believed to be life threatening.

Road deaths increased by 20 per cent in 2023 compared with the previous year, to a nine-year high of 184. Meanwhile, Garda roads policing numbers continued to fall during 2023, with 47 fewer officers than at the beginning of the year.

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