The road where Dlava Mohamed (16) and Kiea McCann (17) were killed last month is not regarded as an “area for concern” and had previously undergone works to make it safer, Monaghan County Council has said.
Three other people were injured in the incident when the car they were travelling in crashed shortly after leaving Clones to travel to a debs ball in Monaghan town last Monday week.
After the fatal crash, details emerged of other serious crashes on the same stretch of road, in which other road users were killed, including a 2004 collision in which Ashley McCluskey was fatally injured.
The 20 year old from Stonebridge, Clones died after the car she was driving went off the road at the precise location where the two teenage girls were killed last month. The car the teenagers were travelling in left the road and hit the same tree Ms McCluskey’s vehicle had struck in 2014.
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There have also been a number of other fatal crashes on the same stretch of road, at or near Legnakelly just outside Clones, though not at the same location as the most recent collision.
In reply to queries about road safety at the location, Monaghan County Council said the N54 between Clones and Monaghan was “a legacy road and is not designed in accordance with any current design standard”.
“Since 2004 at the location where the unfortunate accident happened... the road has been resurfaced, a new vehicle restraint system has been installed on the Monaghan-bound lane and the speed limit has been reduced” from 100km/h to 80km/h, the council said.
“Currently, the TII [Transport Infrastructure Ireland] have not identified this location as an area of concern, therefore, it has not been earmarked for road improvement investment.”
It added that TII managed all the national road network including the N54 “which is repaired and maintained in line with the TII’s repair and maintenance procedures”. It said annual reviews of the roads considered “accidents history, road condition and skid resistance”.
TII describes legacy roads as those that “may have evolved from historic routes that are often constrained by physical or environmental conditions”.
Meanwhile, gardaí have spoken to a number of other road users, drivers and their passengers, who saw the car carrying the victims of last week’s crash at or around the time of the fatal crash. The investigation team has also secured dashcam footage which could prove vital in determining how the crash occurred amid wet conditions.
Dlava’s older sister, Auin (18), was injured in the crash and has since been transferred from Cavan General Hospital to Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, for specialist head injury treatment. Kiea’s date for the night, Oisin Clerkin (18), was discharged from hospital after a brief period of treatment for minor injuries. Anthony McGinn (60) from Newbliss, Co Monaghan, was driving the vehicle and remains in critical condition in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.
The two deceased, who lived in the centre of Clones, were best friends. Kiea’s funeral Mass was told that her and Dlava’s hands were touching as those responding to the scene – including Ms McCann’s father, Franky – tried to assist the teenagers.
