Northern Ireland

Classmates of A5 road victim meet minister John O’Dowd at Stormont

54 crosses were presented to the Minister by St Ciaran’s pupils at Stormont on Thursday representing the lives lost on the road

Class mates of Kamile Vaicikonyte,  meet with Infrastructure Minister, John O’Dowd at Stormont on Thursday, in  relation to the A5 road project.
Kamile Vaicikonyte, a year 13 pupil, who died in a crash on the A5 earlier this year.
PICTURE COLM LENAGHAN
Class mates of Kamile Vaicikonyte, meet with Infrastructure Minister, John O’Dowd at Stormont on Thursday, in relation to the A5 road project. Kamile Vaicikonyte, a year 13 pupil, who died in a crash on the A5 earlier this year. PICTURE COLM LENAGHAN

Classmates of a Co Tyrone teenager who died on the A5 a day after attending a protest calling for the road’s upgrade have staged a protest at Stormont and met Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd.

Kamile Vaicikonyte (17), a Year 13 pupil at the St Ciaran’s College Ballygawley, died in the crash alongside 19-year-old boyfriend Jamie Moore from Omagh in May.

She had attended the demonstration held by the school just the day before to highlight the number of past pupils who had been killed on the road.

54 crosses were presented to the minister by St Ciaran’s pupils at Stormont on Thursday representing the lives lost on the road since an upgrade was first approved by the Executive in 2007.

Mr O’Dowd said on Thursday he has recommended the road project to proceed to construction after a series of legal challenges thwarted its progress, but that the scheme still needs to get approval from the rest of the Executive.

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The project will see more than 50 miles of dual carriageway built between Derry and Aughnacloy.

The cost of the upgrade is estimated at around £1.6 billion, with the Irish government having pledged £400m under its Shared Island funding scheme.

C2421511 Kamile Vaicikonyte
C2421511 Kamile Vaicikonyte (Francois Vincent)
Class mates of Kamile Vaicikonyte,  meet with Infrastructure Minister, John O’Dowd at Stormont on Thursday, in  relation to the A5 road project.
Kamile Vaicikonyte, a year 13 pupil, who died in a crash on the A5 earlier this year.
PICTURE COLM LENAGHAN
Class mates of Kamile Vaicikonyte, meet with Infrastructure Minister, John O’Dowd at Stormont on Thursday, in relation to the A5 road project. Kamile Vaicikonyte, a year 13 pupil, who died in a crash on the A5 earlier this year. PICTURE COLM LENAGHAN