Two More Die On NI Roads

Police are appealing for information after the latest of two fatal road accidents.

A 25-year-old man has been killed in a road accident near Middletown in Co Armagh this morning.

He was the driver of a Jeep which was in collision with a lorry on the Monaghan Road at 8.30am on Monday.

The road was closed and drivers advised to avoid the area and find an alternative route.

The other person involved, the driver of the lorry was badly shaken but otherwise uninjured.

Meanwhile, police are also investigating a weekend crash after the driver of a van was killed when he collided with an articulated trailer.

The accident occurred on the Annvale Road outside Keady after the driver is thought to have lost control of his vehicle while travelling down a steep hill.

It happened at approximately 6.30am on Sunday, and led to him hitting the stationary trailer, which was parked in a lay-by at the side of the road.

The van ended up pinned under the trailer and the driver is thought to have been killed instantly. His name has not yet been released.

The Annvale Road was closed for hours yesterday while police conducted inquiries into the fatal crash.

This morning's fatality makes a total of 72 people to have been killed on NI's roads so far this year and compares to 68 over the same period last year.

Elsewhere, a male motorcyclist, believed to be in his 30s, was taken to hospital suffering from "serious" injuries following an incident reported shortly before 12.45pm on Sunday.

The motorcycle crash was on the Coast Road between Waterfoot and Carnlough.

No other vehicles are believed to have been involved in the crash.

In the Irish Republic, a man died in a road crash in Carlow yesterday evening.

The 41-year-old man was killed when his motorcycle collided with a car near Ballymurphy at around 6pm. He was pronounced dead at the scene while three others were taken to St Luke's General Hospital Kilkenny.

(BMcC/JM)