‘Death was avoidable’ claims PUP representative

Alan Doak, a representative of the Progressive Unionist Party, said that education is the key to prevent such deaths on the roads.

The man who died at the scene was Ivan Foden from the Dunmurry area and he was the driver of a silver coloured Chevrolet Captiva that was involved in a collision with a white coloured Daf box van shortly after 8am.

A 21-year-old female passenger of the Captiva and the male driver of the van were taken to hospital for treatment for their injuries which were not believed to be life threatening.

It is believed that the Captiva had been stolen from the Harmony Hill area of Lisburn earlier that morning during a creeper style burglary.

A 21 year old woman was arrested on suspicion of burglary and allowing self to be carried and later street bailed pending further enquiries.

Police are still appealing for witnesses to the collision or anyone who was travelling on the McKinstry Road around the time of the accident to contact them at Lisburn Police Station by calling 0845 600 8000.

“Car crime has always been an issue on the outskirts of Lisburn/South Belfast over the years with so called “joy riders” being the scourge of local backroads and estates,” said Mr Doak.

“On Friday morning another young man lost his life after stealing a car in Harmony Hill and crashing it on McKinstry Road minutes later crashing into a lorry and leaving another family grieving a completely avoidable loss of life.

“It was undoubtedly traumatising for the lorry driver in the process. A man simply going about his days work. And let us not forget the trauma and inconvenience caused to the victim of the crime.

“Although car crime in Lisburn had fallen 2.9% in the 2012/13 period and 1.9% in South Belfast respectively, there are obviously issues that need to be addressed if young men and women still seek the ‘excitement” of stealing cars, unaware of the consequenses of their actions.

“Education is the key in situations like this so that young people understand that someone is always hurt by their actions , be it the theft of a family car, personal injury, psychological trauma or as we seen last Friday the death of a young man. This is never a victimless crime.”

Local SDLP councillor Pat Catney expressed his sadness at the loss of life: “It’s very tragic news for another family who have lost a loved one. It’s very sad.”