22-Year-Old Dies In Omagh Road Crash

A 22-year-old man has died following a serious single-vehicle crash in Omagh, prompting councillors in the area to raise fresh concerns about the safety of the County Tyrone road.

Darren Gallagher, who is from the area, was the driver of the blue coloured Opel Astra car that was involved in the collision on Sunday 28 October.

It happened shortly after 4am, close to the junction of the Drumlegagh Road on the A5.

The Beltany Road was closed in both directions near the junction but later reopened to traffic.

Independent councillor Sorcha McAnespy offered her condolences, and said Mr Gallagher had a large extended family in the area.

She also raised concerns over another fatality on the A5.

"I know some of his cousins and it's a terrible tragedy," Mrs McAnespy said.

"We've had far too many tragedies in the Omagh area, especially on the roads leading out to Strabane and Ballygawley in the other direction.

"We have another family plunged into unimaginable grief- it's heartbreaking because if that road had been upgraded it could have saved so many lives."

SDLP councillor Joanne Donnelly added: "It's very sad. Any time a life is lost, especially for someone so young, the whole community takes a deep breath.

"It's not a great road. I don't know what happened in this incident but people would tend to speed up there as they come out of the town limits."

"It's a winding road and hard to see if people were trying to overtake."

The A5 remains one of Northern Ireland's most dangerous roads, with 40 people having lost their life on it since 2016.

Police have appealed for information about the collision, and ask that anyone who was travelling on the road on Sunday morning to get in touch.



(JG/MH)