The death toll on the State's roads rose to 221 last night with the death of Ms Catherine Curtis and her son, Wayne, from Nobber, Co Meath. They had been critical since a traffic accident in Co Monaghan on Wednesday which killed three other members of the extended family.
Their deaths last night mean nearly an entire family has died as a result of the crash at Swann's Cross, south of Monaghan town. The only survivors are Ms Curtis's husband, Tommy, and their three-month-old daughter, Chloe.
The driver of the tanker in the accident with the family car also survived.
There was an immense sense of loss in Nobber last night. One local man said people were barely recovering from the shock of the deaths of the couple's daughter, Shauna (5), and Jamie (14) and Garry (14) Curtis, when the news came last night that Ms Curtis and her son had also died.
A local TD, Mr Johnny Brady, said: "It is an awful tragedy and cross for the families to bear. What do you say?"
Ms Curtis, who was in her mid-30s, and her son were passengers in the car which collided with a tanker on the Monaghan-Cootehill road on Wednesday afternoon. A Garda investigation into the cause of the accident is continuing.
Several road accidents this week have brought the number of people killed on the State's roads to 221. Two 17-year-old men from Co Carlow also died on Wednesday when the van in which they were travelling hit a wall on the N6 at Tyrrellspass, Co Westmeath.
The Garda this week urged motorists to take extra care over the coming August bank holiday weekend and warned there would be a "high-visibility enforcement presence".
Meanwhile, a man has been seriously injured when his tractor collided with a train in Co Antrim.
The accident happened at a crossing near Ballinderry between Lisburn and Crumlin, shortly before 1 p.m. yesterday. The train was an engineering train with no passengers. The driver had to be treated for shock.
The marketing director of Translink, Mr Ciaran Rogan, said the accident happened at a crossing which was not open to the public but provided access for local land-owners to reach the other side of the track.
"The tractor was crossing and the train struck it. The tractor went over on its side and the driver of the tractor, as I understand it, had to be cut out by the emergency services. The train was brought to a halt a little way up the line," said Mr Rogan.