Three people have been killed and a number of other people have been injured in separate crashes on Irish roads over the bank holiday weekend, An Garda Síochána has said.
The deaths occurred in separate collisions in Cork, Dublin and Sligo since gardaí launched a national roads policing operation from 7am on Thursday morning.
On Friday, October 25, a 43-year-old man, was killed in a single-vehicle crash on the R571 in Co Cork.
Later that day, a 52-year-old male pedestrian was killed after he was struck by an articulated truck in Dublin city centre.
On Saturday, October 26, a 23-year-old man died in a single-vehicle crash on the R294 in Co Sligo.
Garda investigations into all three incidents are ongoing.
These three latest fatalities bring to 147 the total number of people who have lost their lives on Irish roads so far this year.
Over the past 96 hours, gardaí conducting checkpoints across the country say they caught some 1,200 drivers breaking the speed limit, including one motorist clocked doing 167km/h in an 80km/h zone on the R162 in Meath, and another clocked doing 170km/h in a 120km/h zone on the M8 in Cork.
In the latter case, the learner driver, a man in his 20s, was found to be driving without insurance and also tested positive on the roadside for the presence of drugs. He was subsequently arrested and charged with dangerous driving.
Overall, 158 motorists have been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant amid a series of troubling incidents on Irish roads since Thursday morning.
On Sunday afternoon, gardaí were alerted to a crash on the M7 in Kildare where a vehicle collided with the road’s central median and overturned. The driver, a man in his 30s, had no licence and also tested positive on the roadside for the presence of drugs. He too was arrested and charged with dangerous driving.
In another incident on the M8 in Cork, gardaí responded to a two-car collision shortly after 8pm. The driver of one of the cars involved, a man in his 30s, tested positive on the roadside for the presence of alcohol. He was later arrested and charged with dangerous driving and other road traffic offences.
Outlining the details of all of these incidents, a garda spokesperson said the drivers involved “knowingly consumed an intoxicant, alcohol or dangerous controlled drugs in a recreational environment and then made the conscious decision to drive a vehicle putting themselves and other road users at serious risk”.
The spokesperson said that speeding and driving while intoxicated are “the most dangerous driver behaviours on our roads”.
“An Garda Síochána appeal today is to all road users, many of whom who will be returning home after the bank Holiday weekend to slow down when driving on our roads,” the spokesperson added.
“Do not just drive to the posted speed limit but drive to the road, weather and traffic conditions.”
