Westmeath Crash Victim Named

The Westmeath mother of four who was killed in a tragic road accident yesterday has been named.

Caroline Cox, 32, died after the 4x4 she was driving overturned on the way to the school bus stop with her children.

It happened on the main Collinstown to Oldcastle Road at Cummerstown, around 8.15am.

Caroline's son, Sean, 15, and daughter, Shauna, 13, were in the car along with her three-year-old daughter Courtney and seven-month-old baby JJ.

Mrs Cox had just said goodbye to her husband John Joe as he left for work in Mergon in nearby Castlepollard.

Sean, a well-known hurler in the family's home town of Collinstown, was thrown from the vehicle after it overturned.

All the children suffered a number of broken bones and other injuries and were taken to Mullingar General Hospital, but their mother died at the scene of the crash.

Yesterday, the small community near Caroline's home at The Hill, Collinstown, was said to be"shocked" by the young mother's death.

Gardaí are trying to establish the cause of the single vehicle crash and spent a number of hours forensically examining the scene.

Meanwhile, the funerals of three the four police officers killed in a weekend car crash in Co Down have been taking place.

A service was held for James Magee, 27, at Dromore Cathedral, while a funeral Mass took place in Drumaness for 24-year-old Kevin Gorman.

The funeral of Kenneth Irvine, 30, is being held in the fishing village of Kilkeel and the fourth victim, 39-year-old Declan Greene, will be buried in Massforth on Thursday.

The officers' vehicle crashed and burst into flames on the Warrenpoint to Rostrevor Road at about 4am on Sunday.

As well as a tragic trio of road victims being killed in separate accidents over the past weekend in The Republic, three other people in the North also died in separate weekend accidents.

See: Three Killed In Weekend Wreckages

(BMcC/KMcA)