**Tragedy as Two Teenagers Die After Driver Ignores Pleas to Slow Down in High-Speed Crash**
A community in County Monaghan, Ireland, is in mourning following the deaths of two teenage girls, Kiea McCann, 17, and Dlava Mohamed, 16, who died side by side on a roadside after the driver of the car they were in crashed at more than twice the speed limit. The incident has deeply affected families, friends, and the wider public, sparking discussions on road safety and responsibility.
The collision occurred on the N54 at Legnakelly as Anthony McGinn, 61, drove Kiea, Dlava, and Dlava’s sister Avin towards a ball event in Monaghan Town. Despite firm requests from the girls and another passenger to reduce his speed, McGinn continued to drive at over 90 miles per hour on a stretch of road with a 50 mph limit, in wet and hazardous conditions. His actions resulted in the car skidding out of control and crashing into a tree.
Monaghan Circuit Court was shown harrowing dashcam footage recorded by a vehicle travelling behind the group. The film captured the final moments before the accident that not only killed Kiea and Dlava but left Avin seriously injured. Family members present during the court proceedings were visibly overcome with emotion as the full consequences of the crash were laid bare.
Inspector Lardner, speaking in court, revealed that McGinn claimed little recollection of the moments leading up to the crash. He told investigators he could not remember overtaking any vehicles and professed ignorance over his speed, only realising too late that the car had started sliding. “I wouldn’t have a clue how fast I was going. Jesus, I have no answer. I see my car sliding. I don’t know what speed I was doing,” he reportedly said on viewing the dashcam footage.
For Avin Mohamed, the impact of the incident is lifelong. She recalled how her sister Dlava came with her so she would not have to travel alone: “Anthony began speeding. I remember I got angry and told him to stop. Then everything went black.” Waking up in hospital, she was confronted with the devastating loss of both her sister and her close friend. “My family couldn’t tell me. It broke me. I lost my sister and best friend… I had to build my entire life from scratch and I will never be whole again.”
Her account was echoed by others in the car, including Oisin Clerkin, who reported that he asked McGinn to slow down while the driver played music and ignored the growing sense of alarm among the teenagers. Oisin described fear gripping the group, seeing Kiea’s worried expression, and his next memory after the crash was regaining consciousness in hospital.
Family tributes painted an agonising picture of the loss. Dlava’s father described his youngest daughter as “a piece of his heart”, lamenting that the sorrow of her passing would never leave him. Kiea’s mother, Teresa, movingly recalled how she placed her trust in McGinn to return her daughter safely, only to arrive at the scene to find her daughter’s life already lost. “Kiea and her best friend were robbed of their lives. They were put side by side holding hands on the grass as me and my husband lay beside them,” she told the court.
The heartbreak of the families was compounded by the painful realisation that what should have been a happy occasion instead ended in tragedy. Teresa shared that instead of celebrating her daughter’s upcoming 18th birthday, she found herself arranging Kiea’s headstone.
In court, McGinn’s legal representatives highlighted his early guilty plea, the severe injuries he himself suffered, and his expressions of remorse and formal apology to the victims’ families. Nevertheless, the scale of the devastation wrought by his actions loomed large throughout the proceedings.
Judge John Aylmer elected to defer sentencing until Wednesday, 14 May, as grieving families await justice for the lives lost and irreparably altered by one driver’s reckless choice.
This tragic case has heightened concerns about the consequences of dangerous driving and underscores the lasting impact on victims, survivors, and the broader community. As families prepare to say their final goodbyes, calls for greater road safety and personal responsibility have grown louder across Monaghan and beyond.