Northern Ireland

Two men killed in separate car crashes in Co Antrim

Police at the scene of the fatal crash on the Ballyhill Road near Nutts Corner, Crumlin. Picture: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker
Police at the scene of the fatal crash on the Ballyhill Road near Nutts Corner, Crumlin. Picture: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Police at the scene of the fatal crash on the Ballyhill Road near Nutts Corner, Crumlin. Picture: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker

A MAN in his late twenties was among two men killed within an hour of each other in separate car crashes in Co Antrim on Saturday.

He died when his car hit a stationary lorry on the A8 Larne Road near Ballynure at around 7.50am.

The second crash happened on Ballyhill Road near Nutts Corner shortly before 8.25am when the driver's car left the road.

It is the same road that claimed the lives of four teenage students from Lisburn College of Further and Higher Education in February 2004.

Read more:Man dies after being struck by a car in Co Antrim

Independent councillor David Arthurs, who represents the Ballyclare area, said he knew the young man involved in the Ballynure crash and his family.

"It is tragic," he said. "I heard about the crash in the morning but it was only later in the afternoon that I was informed who it was. It was such a shock.

"He was full of life, a bit of a character, and came from a great family. I haven't been speaking to them yet but I am sure they are devastated.

"My thoughts and prayers and sympathies are with the family circle."

Sinn Féin Councillor Anne Marie Logue, who represents the Airport area, said the Ballyhill Road and surrounding roads had seen 86 collisions in the past two years.

She pointed out that just two weeks ago she had hosted a meeting with residents, police and Roads Service about safety concerns.

"It the alignment of the road, the volume of traffic and speed," she said.

SDLP councillor for the area, Alderman Thomas Burns, described Ballyhill as a "very dangerous road" with a steep gradient.

Both councillors extended their sympathies to the families of those who had died.

Chief Inspector Neil Beck said: “Officers are working to establish the circumstances surrounding both tragic fatal collisions and I would appeal to anyone who witnessed either collision or who has dash-cam footage to contact police."

Meanwhile, a female pedestrian was taken to hospital after being hit by a car on Ormeau Road around 10.50pm on Saturday.

The car, believed to be silver in colour, failed to stop and drove off towards the city centre.

SDLP Botanic representative Gary McKeown urged anyone with information to come forward.

"It is shocking that a woman was hit and the driver made off without stopping," he said.

"More road traffic collisions happen in the Botanic district that any other area in the north, but behind every statistic is a person affected."

Read more:Man dies after being struck by a car in Co Antrim