Northern Ireland

‘Kind hearted' Kenny Wright (50) dies in Ballyclare crash

Kenny Wright, who died in a crash near Ballyclare on Monday night
Kenny Wright, who died in a crash near Ballyclare on Monday night Kenny Wright, who died in a crash near Ballyclare on Monday night

THE brother of a 50-year-old man who died in a three-vehicle collision in Co Antrim has paid tribute to the sibling who helped him "wrestle, box and play soccer as a child".

Kenneth (Kenny) Wright, from Ballymena, died in the crash on Collin Road at Tildarg near Ballyclare at around 7pm on Monday.

A second man, a woman, two girls and a boy were taken to Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital. Two of them were said to remain in a critical condition.

The three vehicles involved - a Volkswagen Amarok, a Volkswagen Golf and a Vauxhall Vectra - were removed from the scene yesterday and Collin Road at its junction with Braepark Road was re-opened to traffic.

A former pupil of Dunclug High School, Mr Wright was the partner of Marina.

One of his six siblings, Shermon Wright, took to Facebook to pay tribute.

"He was my brother, I loved my brother and the last time I had a conversation with him he reached me £50 for Christmas. I will never forget him," he said.

Other tributes on social media described Mr Wright as a "kind hearted man", with one friend writing: "Another legend gone, but never forgotten".

DUP assembly candidate Paul Frew was one of the first on the scene and called an ambulance.

Through Facebook on Tuesday he thanked all those who stopped and assisted and praised the response of the emergency services.

"When out and about our roads you see many things. What I came across and witnessed tonight, I never want to see or hear happen again. Apart from calling an ambulance I was both helpless and hopeless."

Ballyclare UUP councillor Vera McWilliam said the collision took place on a stretch of road where a member of her church wrote off his car before Christmas.

"That's on a very, very bad road. It's all dangerous," she said.

The funeral for Mr Wright will take place in Ballymena tomorrow, followed by burial in Ballee Cemetery.

Police asked for anyone with information to contact them on the non-emergency number 101.