A PARISH priest has spoken of the utter sadness he witnessed as medics battled to help those caught up in a horror Donegal crash that took the life of a young girl.
Carndonagh parish priest, Fr Con McLaughlin, said he will never forget the scenes which met him in the Accident and Emergency unit of Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry.
A young girl has been confirmed dead following a collision between a car and a van at Glentogher, Carndonagh just after 6.30pm.
Three other people, all believed to be members of the little girl’s family, were rushed to Altnagelvin Hospital for emergency treatment.
Fr McLaughlin said he was not at the scene of the tragedy but rushed to the hospital in an effort to provide comfort for those involved.
He revealed: “On hearing about the accident I went straight over to Altnagelvin Hospital and the scene (in accident and emergency) is something I will never forget.
“In the community there is a shock and a disbelief. One can only imagine what the family are going through and I witnessed that pain in the hospital last night.
“The scene in the hospital was just so, so sad. You had doctors and nurses running around trying to do their best to help these poor helpless people. It is something I will never, ever forget.
“I just wanted to be a presence there for the family and I did not speak too much but I just wanted them to know that we are all there for them.”
Fr McLaughlin said the people of Inishowen are once again suffering tragedy on their roads, an experience they are sadly too used to.
He added “Pain is no stranger to the people of Inishowen as there has been so, so many tragic deaths.
‘PAINFUL MEMORIES’
“I remember being present in Buncrana when there was a series of multiple deaths there between 2005 and 2008 and once again tragedy has struck our people and I’m quite sure it revives many painful memories for many people in Inishowen as indeed it does for me.”
“We can visualise how they must feel at this time and how the wider community feels and how people have suffered tragedies in the past as there have been so many in Inishowen.
“I just can’t find words to express how people will feel today and how I personally feel too having been involved in some of them in the past.
“People will rally but nonetheless we have one little child dead.”
SCENE REMAINS CLOSED
There is no official update on the condition of the three other people seriously injured in the crash.
However, it is understood that two of those have been transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for further treatment.
The scene of the tragedy remains closed as gardai carry out a full forensic examination into the possible cause of the tragedy.
Head of the Garda Traffic Corps in Donegal, Inspector Sean McDaid of Buncrana Garda Station, has appealed for witnesses to the collision.
He has appealed for any witnesses, particularly any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) to contact Buncrana Garda Station, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any garda station.
