Pregnant woman taken to St Luke’s after collision at notorious accident blackspot

A PREGNANT woman was among two people who were injured in a notorious accident blackspot in county Kilkenny yesterday.

The accident occurred at the cross in Goresbridge at around 1.30pm.

Gardai and emergency services rushed to the scene and traffic diversions were put in place for over an hour.

Two females, including the pregnant woman, were taken by ambulance to St Luke’s General Hospital for observation. However their injuries were not thought to be serious.

The cross in Goresbridge has been the scene of several crashes in recent years. Last September a vehicle was overturned following a collision at the junction.

Local resident Denis Hynes, who is also the Labour Party’s candidate for Carlow-Kilkenny in the next General Election, took to social media to vent his frustration at the failure of local authorities to put safety measures in place at the notorious accident blackspot.

Mr Hynes wrote: “This is the 10th bad accident in 14 months. I really hope the two ladies are ok. I’m so sick and tired of the response I’ve been getting to date from the Local Authorities. I met the engineer before Christmas and subsequently spoke to him and he ensures me that in February, if funding is available that they will have a look at safety measures at the cross.

“This is not about politics or personalities, it’s about saving lives! I’m not scaremongering here, it’s just when I seen a heavily pregnant woman in the car worried about her unborn baby, it just makes me sick to my stomach.”

Meanwhile, figures released by the Road Safety Authority this week confirmed that three people died on Kilkenny roads last year, a drop from the four who lost their lives in 2017 and the six recorded in 2016.

Overall, Ireland enjoyed the safest year in terms of road fatalities since records began, with 149 lives lost in 2018, seven fewer deaths than the previous year.