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Horror crash at Burt blackspot 02.02.10
by Caoimhinn Barr, Inishowen Independent
AN Inishowen councillor has called for urgent safety
measures at a Burt accident blackspot following the
tragic deaths of a father and son at the weekend.
John Gallagher (59) and his son Sean (24), from
Ramelton, were killed following a head-on collision
with another car at 10.10am on Saturday.
The fatal accident happened at a bend near the Slab
Road junction on the main Derry to Letterkenny road.
Driving conditions were difficult at the time
following a fall of snow in the area. |
The Gallaghers were
travelling back to Ramelton after leaving a family
friend at City of Derry Airport. The driver of the
other vehicle, a 59 year-old woman, was taken to
Letterkenny General Hospital. Her injuries were not
life-threatening.
Councillor for the area, John Ryan, said his
thoughts were with the family following the |
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‘desperate’ tragedy.
“I offer my sincere condolences to the Gallagher
family in this very difficult time,” he said.
Saturday’s collision occurred at the Slab Road
intersection although both vehicles were travelling
on the main N13 road at the time.
Clr. Ryan said that the junction remained extremely
dangerous, with 14,000 road users driving past it
every single day.
“There are three roads coming onto a National
Primary route there and there’s also a chapel and a
hotel. If you are emerging from the Slab Road,
traffic is upon you very fast,” he said.
“The 100km speed limit, which applies to all
National Primary Routes, is too fast for this
location. Safety is more important than any
protocols on limits. It is bizarre that we have such
a high speed limit here. If this junction is not
made safer then another tragic accident will
happen,” Cllr Ryan added.
The Bridgend councillor said that the location
needed traffic calming measures as soon as possible. |
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“I am proposing traffic
calming from the Burt cottages to the Derry side of
the Slab Road Junction. I would also like to see the
Slab Road become one-way so that traffic could not
emerge from it onto the N13 road,” he said.
“There have been several near misses in the location
recently. I was contacted by a local resident who
had difficulty getting in and out of their house
because of reckless overtaking on the chevrons
between Burt Chapel and An Grianan Hotel.”
“I am seeking an urgent meeting with the National
Roads Authority because this is not something that
can be put on the long finger,” Cllr Ryan added.
The tragic deaths of Sean and John Gallagher brings
to 35 the number of people killed on the road
between Bridgend and Newtown since the N13 was
widened in 1968. Nine of them were killed at the
Slab Road junction.
Charlie Downey was killed following a crash there in
1979, while Martin Brogan, Terence Whoriskey and
Teresa Burns all lost their lives in a tragic
accident in the early 1980s.
Half a mile from the Slab Road junction, Garda Gary
McLoughlin lost his life last December while Gavin
Campbell and Cathal Twaddle also died there in
recent years. |
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