Mother (40s) and young daughter killed in crash in Co Mayo

Two members of the same family died on Tuesday evening when the car in which they were travelling collided with a lorry in Co Mayo.

It is understood the deceased were a mother (40s) and her young daughter.

Gardaí said the crash occurred at approximately 5.45pm on the N26 at Callow between Foxford and Swinford.

Fr Padraig Costello from the nearby parish of Foxford received a call from gardaí at about 6.30pm.

“I said prayers at the scene, that’s all I really could do,” he said. “It was a horrific accident, a horrific scene, so sad.”

He said the emergency services were present when he arrived and the car had gone off the road.

“There wasn’t anything much they could do, I think, at that stage… for them it was a horrific scene.

“That’s all you can do, just say a prayer and think of their family… You really feel just so, so, so sad for all of them.”

Local Fianna Fáil councillor John Caulfield said the crash brought Co Mayo road fatalities to three this week.

“Two lives lost [tonight], two from the one family, I believe. Our thoughts are with the families involved and indeed with the lorry driver as well.”

Mr Caulfield said where the crash occurred was not a known blackspot, and driving conditions were good.

“It’s a busy stretch of road but certainly not one for fatalities. I have no recollection of any fatality along there in recent years.

“The community is numb tonight. I’m getting the phone calls, the messages, they’re just numb by this.”

The bodies remained at the scene on Tuesday evening as a major emergency operation, involving paramedics, gardaí and fire brigade personnel continues.

The N26 was closed pending the completion of a Garda forensic collision investigation.

The route is expected to be closed with diversions in place until further notice.

The victims are understood to be from the local, central Co Mayo area.

In a statement, gardaí said they were at the scene on Tuesday evening.

“The driver of the car, a female aged in her 40s, and a passenger of the car, a female child, were fatally injured in the collision. The bodies of the deceased remain at the scene,” the statement read.

The driver of the lorry was taken to hospital with injuries that are understood to be non-life threatening, gardaí added.

Gardaí are appealing for any witnesses to this collision to come forward. Any road users who may have camera footage, including dashcam, and were travelling on the N26 between Swinford and Foxford between 5pm and 6pm on Tuesday have been asked to make the footage available to gardaí.

Anyone with any information can contact Ballina Garda Station on 096 20560, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.