Road Crash Tragedy Referred To Ombudsman

A crash near Claudy in Co Londonderry in which a 20-year-old woman died has been referred to the Police Ombudsman for investigation.

It has emerged that the victim was a passenger in a car that hit a concrete pillar on the Old Glenshane Road at about 1.30am on Sunday and that the police had been tailing the vehicle at the time.

The tragic victim was from the Dungiven area, with the SDLP Claudy Cllr Brenda Stevenson expressing her sadness at the death.

Cllr Stevenson said: "This is news that no family wants coming to their door, particularly on the mouth of Christmas, and my heart goes out to the young woman's relatives and friends at this terrible time.

"The loss of any life is sad but to lose someone so young in such a tragic way is horrific. The thoughts and prayers of many people in rural Derry are with the victim's family as they try to come to terms with this tragedy.

"Having had an accident on this route a number of years ago, I am only too aware of how dangerous a stretch of road it can be. There was also a car crash on the nearby Foreglen Road on Saturday and given these awful accidents I strongly appeal for people in rural Derry and elsewhere to take extra care when driving in these treacherous conditions," she added.

A PSNI statement said they spotted the car being driven dangerously near Feeny earlier that night, and the came across the crash scene after they followed it. They came upon the scene of the accident about 20 minutes later.

Officers are reported to have arrested two men aged 22 and have appealed for anyone who noticed a burgundy-coloured Renault Clio between Feeny and Claudy early on Sunday morning to contact them.

(BMcC)