LAST UPDATE
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52 mins ago
TWO TEENAGERS WHO were killed in a road traffic collision in St Johnston, Co Donegal last night have been named locally.
Daniel Cullen and Caoimhin Porter, who were both 18 years old and from the Shantallow area of Derry, died after the car in which they were travelling collided with a lorry.
A third man, the 18-year-old driver of the car, suffered serious injuries and has been transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
The three men were returning home to Derry having gone to Asda in Strabane when the crash occurred at around 11.15pm on the R236 road.
The Vauxhall Corsa collided with a Volvo FH 500 lorry towing a cattle trailer on the main Lifford-Derry road.
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Local priest Fr Damien Nejad attended the scene at around 1am and administered the Last Rites to one of the young men at the scene.
“It was very, very sad,” Fr Nejad said. “I said a prayer over the body of a young man. There is just shock in the area. It is shocking that this could happen here.”
One of the young men was pronounced deceased at the scene, while the other died a short time later at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry.
Derry-based cleric Fr Michael Canny met with the bereaved families today.
“Their family and their friends are in total shock,” he said. “This is a close-knit community that sticks together, but nevertheless their lives are now going to be changed forever. We also pray for the young man in hospital.”
“Our thoughts and the thoughts of most of the people in the city are with the families who are totally devastated to have received this news last night.”
The Shantallow Community Centre opened its Youth Wing to offer support. Grief counsellors were also on site for assistance.
A spokesperson said: “Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with their families and everyone who loves them.”
Local Presbyterian Minister Rev Craig Wilson said: “It’s terrible. We have families devastated and the loss of two teenage lives is desperate. We heard the sirens going on Tuesday night.”
The road was closed for a technical examination by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators, who arrived at around 10.30am on Wednesday.
Local diversions were put in place and a dark cloud hung over the village.
Donegal County Councillor Gary Doherty said the incident was “an absolutely devastating tragedy”.
“Our thoughts, first and foremost, are to the family and friends of the young lads who have lost their lives and also to the other young lad who is in hospital,” the Sinn Féin representative told Donegal Live.
“The entire community in St Johnston and across east Donegal is in complete shock. This was a quiet Tuesday night and people woke up to go to work not thinking that something like this would come to their own doorstep.
“The fact that we are talking about two teenagers losing their lives, the fact that they are so young, makes it even more profound.”
Doherty said that St Johnston is a “very close-knit community” and the incident left a dark cloud over the village.
“East Donegal is intertwined with our neighbours in Derry and Tyrone given the proximity and people will know someone connected,” he said. “There are members of our community who know the lads and the sense of shock is just devastating.”
Foyle MP Colum Eastwood said this was a “profound tragedy”.
“Today and the days ahead will be unimaginably difficult. But I know that people in Derry and Donegal will offer them every possible support to get through this,” he said.
The Donegal Coroner, Dr Denis McCauley, was notified and post mortem examinations will take place in due course.
Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the collision to come forward.
A spokesperson said that any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and were travelling in the area between 10.45pm and 11.45pm on Tuesday, 24 February are asked to make this footage available to investigating gardaí.
“Anyone with information is asked to contact Letterkenny Garda Station on (074) 9167100, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.”
