A 90-year-old man from Castlebar died on Wednesday night after a truck struck him on the N5 Westport to Castlebar road at Dooleague near Islandeady.
The incident occurred around 9.30pm and the pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene. The deceased man resided in the Newport Road area of Castlebar and has been named locally as Pat O’Haire.
It is widely believed that the tragedy occurred after Mr O’Haire left his car, which had broken down, in order to seek assistance.
The road was closed to facilitate a forensic collision investigation and diversions from the N5 were put in place. Commuters travelling between Westport and Castlebar on Thursday morning took alternate signposted routes. These diversions were in place until Thursday afternoon.
Speaking about tragedy, Mayor of Castlebar, Councillor Eugene McCormack, said that the “entire community is shocked about the accident” and that it was “a great tragedy for Castlebar”. The councillor said that he knew the deceased, whom he described as an “absolute gentleman” and was “known far and wide” in the county town.
The funeral of Mr O’Haire will take place on Sunday afternoon at the Church of the Holy Rosary.
Nationally, statistics for road deaths from the beginning of the year until September 2011, show that 138 people have been killed on the roads — 30 pedestrians, 23 passengers, 62 drivers, nine pedal cyclists, 13 motorcyclists, and one motorcyclist passenger — down slightly on road deaths this time last year.
This reduction is reflected locally, with road safety officer with Mayo County Council, Noel Gibbons, informing members of the roads and transportation SPC this week there has been a reduction in the number of road deaths in Mayo with six road deaths recorded to date.
Speaking to the Mayo Advertiser on Thursday, Mr Gibbons said that Mayo has seen a decline in road deaths over the past year, however he commented that any death on Mayo roads is “one death too many”.
The road safety officer appealed to all road users — drivers, pedestrians and cyclists — to take care on the roads, particularly at this time of year when visibility is reduced, and he reiterated the need for motorists to reduce their speed.
Elsewhere in Mayo, the Charlestown side of the N5 at Ballaghaderreen also faced traffic disruption on Thursday morning after a lorry jack-knifed in the town centre earlier that day. Delays were experienced for motorists even though diversions were put in place.
