Mother of Armagh crash victim Keith Morrison 'bears no grudges' after horror crash which killed four

A mother who lost her son in last month's horror crash in Armagh in which four young people died, says she bears no grudges against anyone, including the driver of the vehicle.

In her first TV interview since the collision which claimed the life of Keith Morrison and his three friends, Lisa Morrison says she has 'come to find the peace' by not blaming anyone for what happened.

On Saturday 23 March, Keith had gone out to a bar in Armagh city centre for the evening.

After spending several hours there, the Volkswagen Golf he was a passenger in, hit a tree on the Ballynahonemore Road. It caught fire with all four people, aged under 20, dying at the scene. Emma Mallon, Marina Crilly, Philip Mitchell and Keith.

Keith Morrison. Credit: Photo press

"We've come to find the peace," Lisa told UTV.

"It was four young kids. Anything could have happened. He could have been distracted by anything whether it had been an animal in the road, whether it could've been my son giving him a wee tap, [that] distracted him.

"Anything, at all, could have happened, we will never know and we will not bear any grudges to anybody.

"Just a total tragic accident."

Recalling the moment that she found out what had happened, Lisa said there was only one way that she would have believed it. That was by visiting the crash site and seeing her son.

"I hadn't spoke [sic] to him since Thursday night but that would've been normal because he would always have been out working," she said.

"[It was a] ships in the night sort of thing. Whenever you heard the door coming you know he was home.

In the early hours of 24 March, that familiar sound of the door opening never came.

"I did not believe it," Lisa added.

"I tried phoning him, tried phoning some of his friends to try and get answers, but I wouldn't believe it until I actually saw him.

His stepmother, Christine Wright, said that since the crash the community has been brought together in grief and support for the affected families.

The site of the crash on Ballynahonemore Road. Credit: UTV

"The amount of flowers that are up there is phenomenal and we do think that it has brought the community together. The support has been amazing."

In memory of Keith and the other victims, his family has organised a first aid awareness course on what would have been his 23rd birthday in the Epicentre in Armagh.

It has already reached capacity with the hope another date can be added to meet demand.

Lisa and Christine told UTV that friends of Keith were traveling a short distance behind when the crash happened and that they tried to help him by performing CPR.

"That little bit of information that we're going to teach people could save a life."

A police investigation into the circumstances of the crash is continuing.

In a statement to UTV, PSNI Chief Superintendent Sam Donaldson said: "My thoughts are very much with the family and friends of the four young people who died in this tragedy.

"Living with loss is so very difficult and we are doing all we can in our investigation into what happened on that dreadful night.

"A thorough investigation is ongoing and we are asking anyone who might have any information which could assist us to get in touch with our Collision Investigation Unit on 101.

"This has been the biggest loss of life in a single collision in 2024 which means 17 people have lost their lives on our roads so far this year. With 71 people dying on our roads during 2023, an eight-year high.

"But these numbers are more than statistics. They are people with families, friends and loved ones who have been plunged into traumatic, life-changing experiences as they navigate this pain and loss.

“For us, reducing deaths and serious injury on our roads is a policing priority and we all have our part to play in keeping our roads safe."

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