Man critical after stolen car collision

Police said the incident involved a stolen car. One male was left in a critical condition in the Royal Victoria Hospital, the Belfast health trust said late last night.

The trust added that four people (including a female) remained in stable conditions, whilst a child and a male had been discharged.

The fire brigade sent three engines to the scene at 6.55pm on the Crumlin Road, near the Ardoyne shops.

Five ambulances and the air ambulance also attended the scene around 7pm.

PSNI superintendent Muir Clark said in a statement: “The collision occurred at approximately 6.55pm and involved a number of vehicles including a stolen black Audi A1.

“The Audi was reported stolen from Thirlmere Gardens in North Belfast during the early hours of Sunday, July 1.

“The matter has been referred to the Police Ombudsman’s Office who are currently investigating the circumstances leading up to the collision therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further pending the outcome of that investigation.”

The SDLP councillor Paul McCusker said: “The scenes from the road traffic accident can’t be described as anything other than carnage.

“I would ask everyone to be patient while the road remains closed and to give the emergency services space to do their job.”

It is understood that six cars were involved in the crash.

A section of the Crumlin Road, one of the thoroughfares in the city, was closed country-bound following the crash.

Nigel Riddell, from Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, told the BBC that one of the cars contained a number of young people.

“There was a wide range of injuries,” said Mr Riddell.

“Some people emerged relatively unscathed but at least one of the patients has suffered very critical injuries and was very rapidly transported to the RVH.”

A child was taken to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children but has since been discharged.

A Belfast Trust spokeswoman said of the five casualties taken to the RVH, one man was critical, two men and a woman were stable and another has been discharged.

A man taken to the Mater Hospital is in a stable condition. One car overturned in the collision, and part of the road has been closed.

Sinn Fein couuncillor Ryan Murphy was at the scene shortly afterwards.

“The car involved was a stolen car,” he said. “It had been taken in the early hours of Sunday morning and it had been travelling down the Crumlin Road as it struck a tree and then hit a number of properties before colliding with about six or seven cars.

“There were around nine casualties in total and one remained in a critical condition in the early hours of the morning which required emergency surgery.”