One man was killed and a woman and child critically injured in a head-on collision between two cars near Milltownpass, Co Westmeath, yesterday. The accident happened at 3.45 p.m. on a straight stretch of the main Galway-Dublin road on the Dublin side of the village when the cars, a Honda Civic and an Opel Vectra, collided at high speed.
The driver of the car travelling from Dublin died instantly. The other car, containing three women and three children, was bound for Dublin.
The road was blocked for a time and huge tailbacks built up as firemen from Kilbeggan cut the victims from the cars.
Midland Health Board ambulances transferred the women and children to various hospitals in the Midlands. One of the injured, who is pregnant, was taken with her daughter to Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, where last night they were said to be in a stable condition.
A sister of the pregnant woman and the other children were taken to Longford/Westmeath General Hospital in Mullingar. Last night one of the children was transferred to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.
The 11-year-old girl was described as critical, as was a woman victim being cared for in Mullingar.
A seven-year-old boy, who was taken to Tullamore General Hospital, was stated to be comfortable. The names of the dead man and the injured will not be released by gardai until all relatives have been informed.