Family speak of how world fell apart after three killed in Aughnacloy A5 crash

The daughter of a woman who died in a Co Tyrone road collision along with her niece and nephew says the family's world has been turned upside down.

Julia McSorley, who was 75 - and brother and sister Dan and Christine McKane - were all killed in the crash on the A5 near Aughnacloy almost two weeks ago.

Hundreds of people turned up for a public meeting in Omagh on Tuesday evening calling for upgrades to the A5 road.

Ms McSorley's daughter Julie McGeehan told UTV she wants her family to be the last to die on the road.

"We're just devastated," she said. "Our whole lives have been turned upside down, we just lost our whole world.

"Mummy was everything to every one of us.

"I can't still believe it if I'm honest, it's only just sinking in and we're all just trying to get through it day by day."

Tara McKenna, Ms McSorley's granddaughter, said the family's strong bond helped them pull together during what has been a "terrible time".

"I've never been in this position before," she told UTV.

"It's absolutely devastating and we're so lucky to have such a strong family bond, it's really pulled us together through a terrible time.

"Granny was just one in a million there's nobody like her and she helped me in more ways than she knew."

A public inquiry will be held next week into the upgrade of the A5 road, which stretched from Aughnacloy in Co Tyrone to Newbuildings in Co Londonderry. 

The 'Enough is Enough' campaign said since the new road was given the green light by Stormont in 2007, a total of 47 lives have been lost. 

The cost of the new road is now estimated to be £1.6billion. 

Campaigners called on those who are against the upgrade to "reflect and reconsider" before more lives are lost. 

The public inquiry is set to resume on Monday 15 May. 

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