Priest says Strabane spirit 'punctured' after crash claims lives of three family members

The deaths of three family members in a road crash in Co Tyrone is too hard to comprehend, a priest has said.

The victims - named locally as Dan McKane, his sister Christine and their aunt Julia McSorley - died when the minivan they were travelling in collided with a lorry near Aughnacloy early on Thursday morning.

The family members were travelling home from attending a funeral of a relative in England.

Four others travelling in the van were injured in the crash and taken to hospital - two have since been released while two others are still receiving treatment.

The victims were from the Strabane and Newtownstewart areas of Co Tyrone.

A religious vigil will take place in Strabane on Friday evening, while a special mass will be held in Aughnacloy.

Priest Fr Declan Boland from Strabane said the incident had brought shock and profound sadness.

“It is nearly impossible to describe what has happened, such is the enormity of the event.

"As the news broke yesterday, gradually the horror of what had happened began to impact us - disbelief, broken heartedness, we cannot take on board the fact that three members of one family - coming from a funeral in England - had been taken out so quickly.

“The McKane family are very well known and very much loved in the community.

“We’re struggling and the spirit in the town is punctured today.

“We are a sad community, but we are a faithful community and we do believe that we have seen tragedy in this town before, and in this parish, and we will come through this.

“[The family are] totally heartbroken. Totally inconsolable. Pure grief. A sense of bewilderment. How did this happen?

“As one of the sons said to me ‘Mammy should be home by now’.

“With the love of the community and their own innate faith I have every confidence that in time they will come to terms to a certain degree. That is my prayer at the minute.

“Nobody and nothing could have anticipated what has happened, but we have to bear it and we will bear it and the strength of our community will see us through.”

The collision occurred on the A5 Tullyvar road just outside Aughnacloy at around 7.20am on Thursday.

The incident has intensified calls for a long-stalled upgrade of the A5 to proceed without further delay.

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