Tributes paid to 'beautiful boy', 16, who died in Donegal road tragedy
Kian Dawson from Carnhill, Derry was out for a drive with a friend when their vehicle left the road and struck a wall on Saturday night
This is the teenager killed on Saturday night while out for a drive with a friend.
Kian Dawson, 16, died when the car in which he was a front-seat passenger left the road and struck a wall near Quigley’s Point in Donegal at around 11:15pm. The car suffered a huge side impact during the collision, after which it ended up in a field.
Football-mad Kian, from Carnhill in Derry, died at the scene.
The driver of the car suffered serious injuries and was rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for emergency treatment.
The car in which the young men were traveling was fitted with R plates, which are mandatory in the North for those who have recently passed their driving test.
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Garda Forensic Collision Investigators arrived at the tragic scene earlier this morning in a bid to determine what exactly caused the accident. The road on which the tragedy occurred, the R240, remained closed for most of the day.
The head of the Garda Traffic Corps in Co Donegal, Inspector Seamus McGonigle, said: “There’s very little I can say other than to express my sincere sympathy with the family of the young man who lost his life and the young man who was seriously injured.
“This is simply another tragedy on the roads of Donegal which I would prefer not to be commenting on. It’s simply heartbreaking for all concerned.”
This was the ninth death on Donegal’s roads so far this year compared to a total of 10 fatalities for all of last year on the county’s roads.
Inspector McGonigle issued a general appeal for people to concentrate on their driving when they get behind the wheel. He also asked people to be aware of weather conditions after a status yellow rain warning was issued for Donegal for the next couple of days.
He added: “I would simply ask people to be as careful as they can when they get behind the wheel of a car. It goes without saying that they should always wear their seat belt, not to speed and never to drive while under the influence of drink or drugs. But overall I would just ask people, young and old, to mind their driving at all times and to be careful.”
Tributes have been flowing on social media for Kian. His good friend Kyle McDonald posted: “Rest in peace brother, taken way too soon. Wish things could be different. There was so much more memories to be made. Look over the boys the next few days. Fly high, forever 16.”
Molly Ferry wrote: “Rest easy beautiful boy. A lot of sore hearts today Kian. Forever our angel now.”
Local Derry MLA, Mark Durkan, said the crash in neighbouring Donegal had made this a “dark” time for all. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families devastated by this tragedy at this dark and unbelievably difficult time,” he said.
Meanwhile, gardaí are appealing for any witnesses to the collision to come forward. Any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and were travelling in the area at the time are asked to make this footage available to investigating gardaí.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Buncrana Garda Station at 074 9320540, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
The accident was one of two which happened in Donegal within a 12 hour period. Three people were taken to hospital in Letterkenny after two cars collided at Inver in the south of the county at around 9am yesterday morning. The accident occurred between Inver Bridge and the Ardaghey turn-off. The condition of the injured party is not yet known. The road remains closed yesterday with local diversions in place.
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