Husband and father of woman and two girls killed in Mayo crash informed of their passing

Contact has been made with a man who lost his wife and two girls in a horror crash near Claremorris yesterday afternoon.

The identity of the three deceased has not yet been released as efforts were being made to contact the man, who is it believed to be working in Zambia.

The woman driver and the two girls who died in the road collision with an articulated truck were living in the west Galway area.

The road at Castlegar on the N17 near Claremorris has now reopened after gardai completed their initial forensic investigation into the horror crash. Senior members of the emergency services who helped the gardai with their forensic investigation have said the scene of the crash was one of the toughest they have had to deal with in the county.

The three deaths bring the total number of people killed on Mayo roads in 2024 to seven. Mayo County Council Road Safety Officer Gary Smyth has said the number is roughly 10 percent of all road fatalities in Ireland this year.

Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne earlier, Mr Smyth said ahead of the Easter weekend, the council's social media pages will once again join with the garda roads policing unit in Mayo "to try and get the message out".

He said: “The gardaí will be out there enforcing the speed limits, as well as drink and drug-driving from individuals. If people are doing a long journey, it's important that they pull in, stop, take a rest, have a coffee - what ever the case may be - to plan their trip, and to make sure their car is fit for the journey, check their tyres, their lights, and that they have window wash.”

Floral tributes to the deceased have been placed on the roadside of the N17 this afternoon.