Nine die in crashes in course of the weekend

Nine people were killed on Irish roads between Friday and Sunday morning - five in Northern Ireland and four in the Republic.

In Northern Ireland, a 15-year-old girl and a 22-year-old man were killed and eight others injured when a car and taxi collided in west Belfast.

The accident took place at a bend on the Falls Road just before 2am. The two people who died were in a Vauxhall Cavalier which collided with the Mercedes taxi. The Cavalier, in which most of the victims were travelling, came to rest on its end, its boot against a cemetery wall.

Three of those hurt were critical, while two more were described as seriously ill, and a further three were said to be stable. Emergency workers described the injuries suffered by some of the victims as "horrific". The Falls Road, which was closed for a time between the Glen Road and Whiterock junctions, has since reopened.

Also in Northern Ireland, an elderly man lost his life shortly after 11am yesterday, when his car left the road and hit a ditch at Shane's Hill Road between Larne and Ballymena. The PSNI were seeking to contact the man's relatives yesterday.

Meanwhile, police have released the name of the 13-year-old boy killed in a road accident in Co Derry on Saturday. He was David McClay from the Lisnareagh Avenue area of Derry, killed in a collision involving two vehicles on the Ballykelly Road, in Limavady.

The police said there were a number of other vehicles in the area at the time, with at least one passing motorist stopping to offer help. They have urged anyone with information to contact them.

The PSNI said a pedestrian killed in Moy, Co Tyrone, in the early hours of Saturday was a Lithuanian who may have been hit by two cars. He was described as being about 25 years of age.

In the Republic, gardaí from Castlerea, Co Roscommon are investigating a fatal road collision which occurred at 3.10am yesterday. Raymond Gill, Corlis, Castlerea (40) died when his car struck a ditch at Corlis, Castlerea. His body was removed to Roscommon hospital for a postmortem.

On Friday, a Tipperary woman in her 20s was killed when a trailer became detached from a jeep and hit an oncoming car on the main Kilkenny to Urlingford road. The accident occurred at Kilrush at around 3.30pm.

Two pedestrians were also killed in separate road accidents on Friday. A 75-year-old woman died in Borris-in-Ossory, Co Laois, after she was hit by a car at Sentry Hill at 9.10am.

In Dublin, a man in his early 20s was killed after he was struck by a lorry at 4.10am. The accident occurred on the M4 Celbridge interchange, and the man's body was later brought to James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Dublin.

A 15-year-old girl died yesterday afternoon from injuries sustained in a collision between a jeep and a car on December 10th. The accident occurred at Clerihan in Clonmel, Co Tipperary.

Meanwhile, gardaí in Lucan are investigating a hit-and-run that occurred on the Lucan Road at 11.30pm on Thursday. A 34-year-old man was seriously injured when he was hit by a car as he crossed the outbound lane, close to the Lucan turn-off. He remains in a serious condition in Tallaght hospital.