TWO PEOPLE died in separate road crashes in Ireland over the weekend.
A 16-year-old boy died following an incident that happened at a well-known blackspot near Arklow, Co Wicklow, at 2.30am on Sunday.
The single-vehicle crash occurred on the N11 at Ballinacor East, when the driver lost control and struck a telephone pole.
A second occupant, a 20-year-old man, was taken to St Vincent’s hospital. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
The 16km (10 mile) single-carriageway road which connects dual-carriageways at Arklow and Rathnew has been the subject of much criticism in recent years.
In the decade to 2008, a total of 24 people were killed on the stretch of the road, with 25 serious collisions.
In recent years funding for an upgrade was cancelled due to cutbacks, but the National Roads Authority announced this year it was seeking a public-private partnership to upgrade this road.
Gardaí in Ballinasloe, Co Galway are investigating a fatal collision in which a 37-year-old motorcyclist was killed.
The man died following a collision with an SUV on the Kilkerrin road in Moylough, Co Galway, at approximately 1pm on Saturday. The man’s body was removed to Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe.
Meanwhile, an Irishman has been killed in a crash in Chicago.
Waller O’Grady (35), from Ballinaclough, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, suffered fatal injuries after he was knocked from his bicycle while coming home from work in Chicago on Tuesday of last week.
He is believed to have been negotiating a busy junction when he was hit by a car.
Mr O’Grady, who worked as a tiler, had been returning to his home in the suburban district of Oak Lawn.
He was the second eldest of a family of eight, and had been in the US for three years.