Tragedy of teenage deaths prompts new calls over A5

Jamie Moore, 19, and 17-year-old girl Kamile Vaicikonyte were killed in a single-vehicle collision on the A5 Doogary Road near Omagh on Tuesday evening.

As a pupil of St Ciaran’s College, Ballygawley, Kamile had joined hundreds of pupils and staff at a special event on Monday – remembering all those who had died on the notorious stretch of road, and calling for the planned upgrade to begin.

More than 50 people have now been killed on the A5 since 2006, while improvement works have suffered delays and legal challenges.

DUP MLA Tom Buchanan expressed his “shock and sadness, at the tragedy, and said: “We can only but try to comprehend what these families are going through”.

Daniel McCrossan of the SDLP said the A5 “cannot be allowed to claim any more lives”.

The PSNI has appealed for anyone who witnessed the collision to come forward.

More than 50 people have now been killed on the A5 since 2006, but planned upgrade work has been set back by a series of delays and legal challenges.

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.”

Tom Buchanan of the DUP also expressed his “shock and sadness” at the tragedy.

“This latest tragedy has left two more families grieving the loss of their teenage children, cut off in their youth and we can only but try to comprehend what these families are going through, at this moment in time.

“My immediate thoughts and prayers are with these two families as they seek to come to terms with this sudden … heartbreak and sorrow they have been plunged into,” the MLA added.

West Tyrone MP Orfhlaith Begley said: “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.”

PSNI Inspector Cherith Adair said: “At around 9.50pm, it was reported that a blue BMW was involved in the road traffic collision. Sadly both Kamile and a 19-year-old man died at the scene.

“Our investigation is continuing, and we are appealing to anyone who was travelling in the area and has dashcam footage, to contact ... 101 quoting reference number 1806 of 30/04/24."