A funeral service was held on Thursday evening in Westport for the Corduff bus driver from Murrisk who was killed on Sunday night in an accident.
Peter Last (60 ) will be cremated today (Friday ) in Mount Jerome Crematorium, Dublin.
The terrible accident occurred after the bus, which was ferrying students to Limerick, was in a collision with a van on the N17 near Tuam on Sunday around 8pm. The Galway driver of the van also died at the scene.
The chief ambulance officer of the Western Region Ambulance Service, Paudie O’Riordan, has paid tribute to the emergency response staff, both on and off duty, along with members of the public who responded to the accident. “On the night in question, the ambulance service had 11 ambulances responding to the incident from across the west from Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon,” he said. “Many off-duty staff responded to a call from Regional Ambulance Control to allow for this level of response to be provided, thus ensuring ambulance cover be maintained across the region. As a service we are extremely grateful to all staff for the level of dedication and professionalism shown on the night and believe this is indicative of the high standards within the service. A special word of thanks to Mr William Ahern from Kiniska, Claregalway, of Callinan Coaches, who on the night showed tremendous community spirit.”
Mr Ahern, who was travelling towards Galway, brought 22 of the students, accompanied by an ambulance and a Garda escort, to the emergency department in University Hospital Galway. Three other students travelled by ambulance to the emergency department.
The ambulance officer also thanked his colleagues “in both the Garda and Fire Service for their assistance on the night in question. Under very difficult circumstances and inclement weather conditions, the three agencies worked extremely well together to manage the situation.”
“I would like to appeal to all drivers, pedestrians and cyclists to pay particular care on the roads over the coming months,” he said. “With similar weather conditions likely to occur during the winter months, it is important that due care is taken on the roads at all times.”
