Teenager’s emotional plea after latest deaths on dangerous road: ‘It took my bubbly best friend’

Kamile Vaicikonyte (17) and 19-year-old Jamie Moore lost their lives in an accident on the Doogary Road, near Omagh, on Tuesday night.

Ms Vaicikonyte, who was of Lithuanian descent, and her family moved to Northern Ireland when she was two.

She worked in a Supervalu store in the town and was a sixth-year student at St Ciaran’s College in Ballygawley.

Mr Moore, from the Omagh area, was a security guard at the town’s Asda.

Ms Vaicikonyte’s emotional best friend and former schoolmate, Triniti Keleman (17), said she would always remember and miss her.

She added: “The A5 road needs serious changes. My best friend and her boyfriend weren’t the first and won’t be the last to die on that road.

“It’s 17 years we’ve been waiting for a change.

“Kamile and I were always best friends, and she just recently turned 17.

“I remember how excited she was to get her licence and drive around Ireland this summer, but sadly that is not happening.

“The A5 took my bubbly, pretty and smart best friend.

“I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through the same thing I’m going through.”

The A5 runs from Derry to Aughnacloy and is one of Northern Ireland’s busiest and most dangerous roads.

Four people have died on it in just eight weeks.

The latest deaths have led to fresh demands to finally start work on a long-delayed upgrade of the road.

The project was announced in 2007 but has been held back by legal challenges and other issues.

Less than 48 hours before she died, Ms Vaicikonyte attended a demonstration at St Ciaran’s College, calling for work on the road to begin.

St Ciaran's High School 'A5 Enough is Enough' video

It was attended by almost 900 people and involved pupils holding crosses in memory of the more than 50 people killed on the road since 2007.

A Year 12 pupil born on the day the upgrade was announced 17 years ago used the event to hand a petition signed by more than 1,000 people to political representatives.

A day later, Ms Vaicikonyte and her boyfriend’s name were added to the list of victims.

Ms Keleman warned it was only a matter of time before another tragedy on the dangerous stretch of road.

“My heart breaks knowing that they were not the first and not the last people who are going to lose their lives on the A5,” she said.

“I’m still in disbelief that such an awful thing could ever happen to my best friend.

“May she rest in peace, and hopefully she achieves all her dreams in heaven.”

St Ciaran’s College principal Paul Lavery said Ms Vaicikonyte was a “bubbly, outgoing girl who was very popular with staff and pupils”.

He added that the whole school community had been “deeply shocked and saddened” to learn of her death and passed his best wishes to her family.

A funeral notice for Jamie Moore said he died “tragically as a result of a car accident”.

One of his friends described him as the “kindest soul, taken too soon”.

Mr Moore played soccer for Beragh Swifts FC.

A spokesperson for the football club said members were “shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic passing”.

The Irish government announced €600m (£700m) of funding for the A5 upgrade earlier this year.

The road runs for 58 miles and is the main north-south route in the west of Northern Ireland, connecting with the A4 and linking to Belfast via the M1.

Sinn Fein councillor Eugene McConnell, who was heavily involved with the A5 Enough Is Enough campaign group, said action from the Executive was urgently needed.

He added: “Words fail me that we now have two more young lives who were looking ahead to everything that lay in front of them in life, and now we’re further trying to find words to comprehend what has happened.

“We are trying to find ways to add solace to their tragic circumstances.

“All we are crying out for is to just get this done. Enough is enough. Frustration levels have got to the level where people can no longer tolerate this.”

First Minister Michelle O’Neill backed calls for work to start on the upgrade as soon as possible.

“The loss of two young lives on the A5 is absolutely heartbreaking,” she said.

“My heart goes out to their families, friends and everyone affected by this tragedy.

“The A5 [upgrade] must be built. No family should ever have to experience this unimaginable heartache.”

SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan echoed the First Minister’s words and warned that deaths on the road were now “happening on a regular basis”.

Mr said: “This news is another awful reminder of the danger that everyone who travels on this road faces.

“It is long past time we do something about it.”