A bereaved mother has embarked on a cross-Border walk to raise awareness of the "hidden victims" of road deaths.
Ursula Quinn, whose 19-year-old daughter Shauna was killed in a car crash in Co Laois four years ago, said at least 10 people were affected by every road death. "The governments count the statistics of the people who are injured or killed but they don't count the victims who are left to pick up the pieces."
Mrs Quinn began her walk from Lurgan to Ballybrittas on Thursday and will visit Newry, Dundalk, Drogheda, Balbriggan, Swords, Newlands Cross, Naas and Kildare. The walk will end on August 4th at the spot where Shauna was killed in Ballybrittas.
Mrs Quinn, who has urged people to show their support by walking one mile with her through each town she passes, hopes to raise money for counselling services.
Shauna died on September 21st, 2002, on her way to Cork University where she was to study international human rights law.
"From when we lost Shauna, it is just a terrible, terrible void in our family. We miss her every single day." Mrs Quinn said counselling helped her deal with some aspects of her bereavement but that governments could do more to help families cope.
To join Mrs Quinn, visit the website http://drivingkills.ubi.ac.uk/walk_with_me.htm.