Three people killed in crash were travelling in same car

Three people who died in a crash in County Armagh at the weekend were all travelling in the same car, police have said.

The three-vehicle crash happened on the Armagh Road near the village of Moy on Saturday evening.

Conor Quinn, 31, from Derrylaughan, County Tyrone, John Guy, 48, who was originally from Dublin but living in Keady, and 23- year-old Laura Hoy-Henry, from Cookstown, all died at the scene.

Another female passenger who was travelling with them in a red BMW was also injured.

Two people in a grey Volkswagen Amarok suffered injuries that required medical treatment.

The driver of the third car, a white Audi Q3, suffered minor injuries.

Inquires are continuing into the collision and police have reiterated their appeal for information and witnesses.

Det Insp Stewart said officers were continue to support the families of the victims.

Social Democratic and Labour Party councillor Thomas O'Hanlon said the grief in the area was "just unimaginable and people are really, really stunned".

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme, O'Hanlon said three families and three communities had been "torn apart in the blink of an eye".

"There's a silence over the community," he said.

O'Hanlon spoke about the long-term effect on the families.

"Your heart just goes out to families where mummies and daddies aren't there for big occasions, for the little things that you want to run and tell them happened on this day at school or that day at work," he said.

"That's where it will really hit home."

According to online death notices, 11 children lost a parent in the crash.

O'Hanlon said the Armagh Road was "extremely busy, both day and night".

"People are always concerned about road safety on that stretch of road," he added.

Diana Armstrong, Ulster Unionist Party assembly member for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, said the Armagh Road was a "long, straight, fast road".

"People say to even get on to the road from a side road it can take up to 25 cars before you can get on to the road so that just gives you an idea of how busy that road is," she said.

Sinn Féin assembly member Colm Gildernew told Good Morning Ulster there was a sense of numbness in the community.

"Three families, three communities totally ripped apart," Gildernew said.

"The community will rally around the the community, will support those families to their best ability and the families will bear the grief.

"I have no doubt this will be something that will just totally change lives forever."

Alliance Party MLA Peter McReynolds told the assembly his "thoughts and prayers" were with the families of the victims.

"Every death on our roads is one too many," he said.

McReynolds chairs the All Party Group on Road Safety at Stormont.

"Since the group was created there have been 80 deaths on our roads and each time we meet, there are more tragedies to reflect upon and I wish this wasn't the case."

Four other people sustained injuries in the incident.

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said it sent three rapid response paramedics, seven emergency crews, one hazardous area response team, an ambulance officer and an ambulance doctor to the incident.

Following assessment and initial treatment at the scene, two patients were taken to Craigavon Area Hospital and another to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

Four other people died over the weekend in road traffic collisions in the Republic of Ireland.