Teenager dies in Cork road crash involving car and lorry
The incident occurred outside Bandon on the main N71 Cork-Skibbereen road.
It happened at Toureen, Ballinhassig between Halfway and Bandon around 7.15am this morning and involved a car and an articulated lorry.
The driver of the car suffered critical injuries and was pronounced dead before he could be rushed to Cork University Hospital (CUH).
The deceased is aged in his late teens.
Gardai immediately closed the section of road involved to facilitate the work of the emergency services.
Local diversions were implemented as the road was temporarily closed in both directions and will remain closed for some time.
Gardai have appealed for anyone who may have witnessed the collision to contact them.
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Technical officers examined the scene in a bid to determine the precise circumstances of the collision.
"Gardai are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed this collision to contact them," a Garda spokesperson said.
"Any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and were travelling in the area between 7:00am and 7:30am this morning are asked to make this footage available to investigating Gardai."
"Anyone with information is asked to contact Bandon Garda Station on (023) 8852200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station."
Ireland has now recorded 93 road deaths so far this year to July 21 - 10pc down on the same period in 2024.
Just three months ago, Ireland had seen road deaths plummet by almost 18pc.
By July 20, 2024, Ireland had recorded 100 road deaths.
The deaths this year have included 35 drivers, 23 pedestrians, eight passengers, 17 motorcyclists, eight pedal cyclists, one e-scooter user and one pillion passenger.
Alarmingly, more than one-in-three deaths this year have involved motorcyclists or pedal cyclists.
The Government was so concerned at spiralling road deaths in 2023 that a decision was made to split the Road Safety Authority (RSA) in two to better focus on future traffic challenges.
Road safety chiefs have ordered studies into the roller-coaster nature of fatal collision statistics to better understand the reasons for surges and declines in fatalities.
Particular concern is focused on motorcyclists and pedal cyclists where the fatality rate is vastly higher than their percentage as a road user group.
One-in-five deaths on Irish roads this year involve motorcyclists - but this group accounts for only 1.4pc of all licensed vehicles.
Motorcyclists account for almost 20pc of all deaths on Irish roads.
An RSA report found that almost 1,100 motorcyclists have been killed or seriously injured on Irish roads since 2019.
Bikers are six times more likely to be killed in traffic collisions than any other road user.
PARC road safety group founder Susan Gray warned that an alarming number of people who have died on Irish roads so far this year were aged 30 years or younger.
Of the 91 lives lost on Irish roads so far this year, 31 involved people aged 30 years or younger.
Mrs Gray said the cornerstone of road safety was the strict enforcement of safety regulations and proper resourcing of the Gardai.
"There is an undeniable link between Garda Road Policing Unit numbers, enforcement of road safety regulations and the safety of our roads."
She said the priority for the Government should be the provision of maximum resources for the Gardai - and better driver education for all road users.
Mrs Gray said Garda RPUs deserved enormous credit for the work they had achieved with depleted resources.
Garda RPU personnel numbers are over 40pc down on 2009 levels.
"We desperately need to get the road safety message across - and ensure that road safety regulations are rigorously enforced," she said.
"But this includes all the stakeholders from the Government to State agencies and from prioritising recruitment to the Gardai to closing loopholes in the law and devoting the resources to road safety to reduce the number of fatalities."
August was the deadliest month on Irish roads in 2023 but inexplicably proved to be one of the safest last year.
Ireland had 138 road deaths in 2018 - 29pc below 2024 levels.
Since 2018, road deaths have steadily climbed: 2019 (140), 2020 (146), 2021 (130/Covid lockdowns), 2022 (155) and 2023 (184).
Almost half the road deaths over the past 18 months have involved vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, bikers and e-scooter riders.
An RSA submission to the Government last year noted that, in the space of five years, deaths amongst young people aged between 16 and 25 years almost doubled - soaring from an average of 25 to 48 in 2023.
Overall, road users aged 16-25 years represented the large proportions of fatalities (26pc) and serious injuries (22pc) over recent years.