Three people died and four others, including two children, were injured in a two-car crash in Co Tipperary yesterday afternoon. A fourth person died in another accident in Co Cork.
The dead were a woman in her 40s who was travelling in one of the cars with four passengers, a woman in her 20s and a man in his 40s who were the only occupants of the second car.
A seven-month-old baby girl, a nine-year-old girl, a man and a woman were injured in the collision. The woman was in intensive care in hospital last night.
Garda∅ had not released the names of the dead and injured last night but all are believed to be members of two families, one from Co Tipperary and the other from Co Waterford.
The accident happened at about 2.45 p.m. at Ballydrehid, about three miles from Cahir on the Cahir-Tipperary section of the main N24 Waterford-Limerick road.
The man and woman who died together were travelling in a black Opel Tigra car and the other victims were in a black Citroen Xsara when the vehicles collided.
The two women were declared dead at the scene while the man died at about 3.30 p.m. at Our Lady's Hospital, Cashel. Two units of the Cahir Fire Brigade went to the scene and had to use cutting equipment to free the nine-year-old girl who was trapped in the wreckage of the Citroen.
The matron of Our Lady's Hospital, Sister Helen Blackwell, said the condition of the little girl and the baby was "comfortable". The injured man was still undergoing tests and the extent of his injuries were not known.
The two cars collided on a sweeping bend on the road in conditions described by a spokesman for Cahir garda∅ as "misting". They have appealed for anyone who witnessed the accident or saw either of the two cars on the road before the collision to contact them at 052-41222.
Earlier, garda∅ in Mitchelstown, Co Cork, began an investigation into the death of a pedestrian on St Stephen's night whom they believe may have been the victim of a hit-and-run.
Ms Emma Spiers-O'Driscoll (26) was walking on the Ballyhooley Road, near Fermoy, 10 minutes after midnight when the accident happened.
Garda∅ said it was not clear whether she was walking or lying on the road when the car struck, adding it was possible she had been knocked down by another vehicle earlier. She was removed to Cork University Hospital .
The deaths bring to 402 the number of deaths on the roads so far this year.