FOUR members of a US family killed in a road crash in Co Wexford had arrived in Ireland just hours earlier after travelling back for a family funeral.
An elderly couple, who were understood to be Irish but living in Oakland, Illinois, and their two sons, had rented a car at Shannon Airport and were travelling to New Ross when the crash happened.
Doug and Lily Ryan-Alexander, who were both aged 75, and their sons Doug Jnr (52) and Steven Alexander (49) were due to attend the funeral of Mrs Alexander's sister, Winnie Keevey.
They were on their way to Mrs Keevey's home, where her wake was taking place, when their BMW hire car collided with an articulated lorry on the main New Ross to Wexford road on Monday evening.
A priest, who had only just left the wake of Mrs Keevey, told of how he came upon the scene of the tragedy involving four of her relatives.
Fr Sean Devereux said the "community is absolutely numbed".
"I came out of the Keevey home last evening, after being with the family and said some prayers, and I came up to the top of the road to see the skyline alight with emergency service lights and things like that," he told RTÉ.
"To think that something so terrible had happened was unbelievable.
"The community is absolutely numbed by the tragedy and all that has unfolded in the last 12 to 15 hours.
"Mrs Keevey would have travelled back and forth visit her sister Lily in the United States and her other sister as well who’s in the United States. They would obviously have had contact with each other."
Tributes were paid last night by colleagues of Steven Alexander, who was a police officer with the Bollingbrook Police Department in Chicago.
In a tribute posted online, Bolingbrook police department said it was "mourning the death of one of their own".
"A traffic crash in Ireland has taken the life of officer Steven Alexander, his mother, father and brother," it said.
"According to a the Deputy Chief of Police in Bolingbrook, Mike Rompa, Steve and his family were attending a funeral in Ireland.
"Rompa says, 'this information was brought to our attention by Steve’s cousin, who came in person to our lobby to advise us of this tragic news'".
Gardai investigations were continuing into the crash last night. A man in his 40s, who was driving the lorry, and a passenger were uninjured in the collision, but both left badly shaken.
Meanwhile, tributes have been paid to the victim of a road crash in Co Down.
Sean Fegan (50) from Drumaness died in the one-vehicle collision on the Carnreagh Road near Castlewellan on Monday between 9.30am and 10am.
It is understood that Mr Fegan may have suffered a heart attack while driving.
SDLP councillor Mark Murnin said Mr Fegan was a "quiet man".
"I went to school with him so have known him for many years and it's terrible to hear what has happened.
"He was a quiet, unassuming man who had a great, dry wit.
"He was from a well-known family and who have a lot of connections in the area so his death has come as a great shock."
The PSNI have appealed for anyone travelling on the Carnreagh Road, and who may have witnessed the collision involving a purple coloured Isuzu pick-up truck, to contact officers.
