A 20-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl have died after a car crash on the A5 in Co Tyrone.
The collision happened on the Doogary Road, south of Omagh shortly before 10pm last night.
I am deeply saddened to hear that two people have lost their lives on the A5 road in an accident overnight.
— Daniel McCrossan MLA 🕊 (@McCrossanMLA) May 1, 2024
This is very tragic & heartbreaking for all those families affected & the wider community.
My thoughts & prayers are with the families of the young man & woman.
Police have issued an appeal to anyone who witnessed the crash, which involved one vehicle, or has dashcam footage to speak to officers.
Inspector Cherith Adair said police received a report of a single vehicle road traffic collision at around 9.50pm involving a blue BMW car.
“Officers attended, alongside colleagues from Northern Ireland Ambulance Service,” she said.
“A 20-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl sadly died at the scene.
“The Doogary Road, which was closed overnight, has now reopened.
“Our investigation is continuing, and we are appealing to anyone who was travelling in the area and has dashcam footage to contact the collision investigation unit on 101, and quote reference number 1806 of 30/04/24.”
Local political representatives expressed sadness at further deaths on the A5, and reiterated calls for the redevelopment of the road.
West Tyrone MP Órfhlaith Begley, of Sinn Féin, said: “The community is shocked and devastated to learn that another two young people have lost their lives on the A5 road.
“My immediate thoughts are with these young people’s families and friends as they come to terms with this unimaginable heartbreak today.
“More families have been left heartbroken by another fatal collision on this dangerous road, and today’s news serves as another sad reminder of the need to move forward and build the A5 with no more delays.”
SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan said the A5 “cannot be allowed to claim any more lives” and added that “immediate action was needed to progress the road upgrade”.
“Since the return of Stormont we have already seen a number of deaths on the A5, this is happening on a regular basis and our community cannot continue to brave these losses,” he said.
“Every day people are leaving their homes to travel on this road, causing huge worry in their families who can’t be sure that they will come home.
“We need to progress on the A5 redevelopment, we cannot afford any more delays, people’s lives are literally at stake and no excuse can be justified.”
Plans to upgrade the A5 have been stalled since the project was first agreed in 2007.
Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said in February that he expected work on a new dual carriageway between Newbuildings and Aughnacloy to start this year after his government committed €600m to the scheme.
Earlier this week, a Co Tyrone school whose former pupils have been among those killed on the A5 came together to highlight the school community’s support for a new road.
