'I hope it doesn't take a tragedy...'

“I told him to go home and bless his face. He was a lucky man. I think we all were,” two-time Olympian John Joe Nevin said of a narrow escape between his van and another car travelling on the N55 between Cavan and Ballinagh recently. The incident, at Killycannon Hill, is one of a spate of accidents and near-misses in recent years at the same location. 

The driver of the other vehicle involved and a local TD both expressed a hope that it would not take “a tragedy” for action to be taken on the section of road by the relevant authorities.
That close call, involving Mr Nevin, is just one of a number in recent months, The Anglo-Celt understands, with another accident occurring earlier this week, and a serious accident involving a woman and her three children some months ago.
Mr Nevin, meanwhile, had been travelling to a wedding reception earlier this month when the near-miss occurred. Travelling from Ballinagh towards Cavan, Mr Nevin, who was with his young family explained: “We were coming up the hill in the van, he was coming down it. Only for the van really, him clipping us, he would’ve been up and over the ditch. He hit the van and kind of came back out onto the road. But the van itself could’ve flipped either, so it really was a blessing for us all that it wasn’t more serious,” he stated.

The Mullingar-native, who was in the full-throes of preparing for a three-fight fixture list in the US at the time, flying out only this week, added: “It’s not the first time there’s been an accident on that corner. There’s been a few, a good few alright, on both sides of the road.”

'The car just went from me’
The other driver, Ballinagh father-of-three, with another child on the way, Liam Scully gave a dramatic account of being the driver of the other vehicle involved.
He outlined how, after heavy-rainfall at about 3pm in the afternoon, driving between 70-80 kilometres per hour, he felt as if his car hit a “bump” in the road as he travelled into the corner towards Ballinagh. “The car just went from me, it didn’t even screech. It just drifted and I was sliding sideways along the road and I stopped on the wrong side of it with a line of traffic looking at me. I only clipped the van that was coming towards me.”
The Celt is aware of at least a dozen more crashes, some which resulted in cars being written off. There are numerous reports of vehicles sent-spinning, some coming down the hill towards Ballinagh and careering into the ditch on the far side of the road, particularly in wet conditions.
Mr Scully told the Celt he himself “pulled” a young driver from a crashed vehicle at the same spot back in April, with the driver having left the road in similar circumstances to his own.
“I don’t know if he was injured to be honest, I just pulled in when I seen him crash and pulled him out. I gave him my phone to ring someone and asked him did he need an ambulance. He was white in the face with shock.”
Mr Scully admitted it still “scares” him to think what could have occurred had Mr Nevin’s reactions to evade his out-of-control vehicle not been so assured.
“To anybody taking that corner, and I’ve been taking it twice a day for 10 years, is just don’t take it for granted and be wary of that tarmac spot in the braking area. Maybe it needs some speed strips before it just to remind people of the bend ahead. I’ve never had an accident and never felt a car slide and drift like that before and I never hope to again.”
He added: “I hope it doesn’t take a tragedy for it to be taken seriously. The way it’s going, it’s what’s going to happen.”
The Celt understand accidents at Killycannon Hill have been discussed as part of a joint initiative between the Council and An Garda Siochána under their Collision Prevention Programme (CPP).
Meeting up to four-times a year, the purpose of the CPP is to identify accident prone areas of roadway and evaluate what measures can be put in place to prevent such occurrences in future.

'Slow Down’
The council has in the past carried out resurfacing works at the scene, as well as installing large electronic 'Slow Down’ signs warning motorists of their speed prior to the turn in the road.
Surveys, considering driver speed and error, weather, as well as visibility, have been carried out in the past. One local informed the Celt that incidents of cars leaving the road at that location happen “every couple of weeks or so”, but added too that the spate of accidents could be down to “a number of factors”.
The Celt also understands that road traffic accidents at Killycannon Hill have also been raised by the local authority with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), formerly the National Roads Authority (NRA).
This newspaper contacted both the Council and the TII for a comment on the ongoing situation at Killycannon Hill, but none was forthcoming at the time of going to print.

'Fears someone will be killed’
Meanwhile, Cavan-Monaghan Fianna Fail TD, Niamh Smyth voiced her concern about the frequency of accidents on the N55 at Killycannon Hill. I have been contacted by a number of constituents about their fears that someone will be killed on this section of road if works are not carried out to replace the slippy surface. I have been in contact with the Senior Engineer at Cavan County Council on this route which falls under the remit of the National Roads Authority,” she said.
Making the wider point, and calling for an emergency meeting with the Minister for Transport regarding the condition of roads in the constituency, she added: “This section of road is not only concerning but you only have to look at the drain it is having on our emergency services who are being called upon weekly to deal with incidents on this route. Surely the National Roads Authority can carry out these works as a matter of urgency.”