Gardaí appeal for halt to Westmeath crash video sharing

Gardaí are appealing to the public not to share videos on online relating to a road crash in Rathowen over the weekend that left two men hospitalised with serious injuries.

In the wake of the single-vehicle collision in the early hours of Sunday, several videos were posted online. “An Garda Síochána are aware of videos on social media and we would encourage that no videos relating to this are circulated,” a garda spokesperson said on Monday.

He did, however, ask that if anyone had anything to assist An Garda Síochána in their investigation, that they contact the garda station in Mullingar.

The two male occupants of the car are described as being “from the midlands” and in their 20s. Gardaí and the emergency services arrived at the scene shortly after 2.30am, and the two men were taken to Tullamore Hospital with serious injuries.

The accident led to closure of the road through Rathowen from the time of the accident until 6pm Rathowen.

“A traffic management plan was put in place, with assistance from Longford Garda Station,” the garda spokesperson said. Garda Forensic Collision Investigators attended.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Mullingar Garda Station at 044 938 4000, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.