A two-year-old boy has become the seventh person to die in a series of road crashes throughout the country since yesterday afternoon.
The child died in a collision at around 3.20pm this afternoon at Lispopple Cross on the Swords to Ashbourne road on the Dublin-Meath border.
The car in which the boy was travelling in hit a tractor. He was removed to Temple Street Hospital.
The road has been closed and traffic diversions are in place. Motorists have been asked by the Garda to avoid the area if possible.
Gardaí in Swords are also seeking witnesses to the crash. Anyone with information to offer should contact Swords Garda station on 01 6664700.
Six other young people have died on the roads since yesterday afternoon
A 20-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman died in Co Cork when the car they were passengers in collided with a low loader. Two others were taken to Cork University Hospital with minor injuries.
The victims were named as Thomas Reck of Innishmore Square, Ballincollig, and Ciara Moynihan of Knocknagown Place, Rylane.
The crash happened shortly after midnight on the Ballincollig bypass at Lisheens, Ovens, Co Cork.
Elsewhere, a man (28) died in a two-car collision in Kilmeen, Loughrea, Co Galway, at 12.30am. The body of the dead man, who was driving one of the cars, was taken to Portiuncla Hospital for postmortem.
In Sligo, gardaí are investigating the death of a male pedestrian, who was hit by a car at Carricknagat, on the Ballisodare to Collooney road at around 11.45pm.
The man has been named by gardaí this evening as Damien Crawley (29), from Riverside, Ballisodare. He was pronounced dead at the scene by a local doctor and his body was taken to Sligo General Hospital for a postmortem.
Witnesses to the incident have been asked to contact Sligo Garda Station.
A man (22) also died after a car crashed into a fence in Co Antrim. Another man is in a serious condition in hospital following the crash on the A57 Templepatrick road at Ballyclare shortly before 11pm yesterday.
The PSNI said no other vehicles were involved.
Another man in his 20s died in a crash yesterday afternoon in Co Kerry. The two-car collision happened at 16.20pm in Aghatubrid, Cahirciveen, on the main Cahirciveen toWaterville Road. Three others people were take to Tralee Hospital with injuries after this crash.
A total of 48 people have died on the State's roads since the start of the year, five more than for the same period in 2005. Last year, 399 people died in road crashes in the Republic, the highest toll since 2001.
