Cookstown road tragedy: Patrick Rogers and Mary Duffy named as two of the victims

This afternoon a PSNI spokesperson confirmed they were Patrick Rogers from Cookstown and his mother-in-law Mary Duffy from Dungannon.

Mr Rogers, the 26-year-old driver, and Mrs Duffy (52) were travelling in a red Nissan X-Trail which was in collision with another vehicle in the Dungannon Road area on Monday (December 26) shortly before 3.30pm.

A third person, a woman aged 80 also died in the collision. She was the driver of a silver Volkswagen Golf.

Mr Rogers’ wife and their four children, who were passengers in the Nissan X-Trail, were injured in the collision and remain in hospital today, their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

Superintendent Stephen Murray, PSNI District Commander for Mid Ulster, said: “Our thoughts are very much with the families of the people who lost their lives on our roads. Any loss of life is a cause of great sadness and it feels particularly tragic at Christmas.

"I’d also like to commend members of the public who provided assistance at the scene of this collision and our officers and other emergency services for their caring and professional approach in these very tragic circumstances.

"An investigation led by specialist investigators from the Collision Investigation Unit has commenced and I am appealing to anyone who was in the area at the time who may have witnessed the collision or who has dash-cam footage or any other information to contact police on 101 quoting reference number 957 of 26/12/22."

IInformation can also be submitted online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/