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Two teenage girls died holding hands in horrific accident moments before school prom
Two teenage girls tragically lost their lives in a car crash on their way to prom after the driver failed to heed repeated requests to slow down.
Kiea McCann, 17, and Dlava Mohamed, 16, were traveling with family friend Anthony McGinn, 61, when the crash occurred. McGinn, who was driving at high speed, lost control of the car and crashed into a tree, resulting in the girls’ deaths. The accident took place in County Monaghan, Ireland, in July 2023.
The events leading to the crash
The two best friends, Kiea and Dlava, were on their way to celebrate their formal event, a milestone in their young lives. However, what should have been a joyful occasion turned into a nightmare.
Per The Sun, the car was traveling at excessive speeds, well over the limit, when McGinn lost control. Passengers in the car, including a friend sitting in the front seat, pleaded for McGinn to slow down.
The friend, Oisin Clerkin, later described how frightened he felt as the car continued to speed, and he told the court that Kiea seemed visibly scared. Tragically, those pleas went unanswered, and the vehicle smashed into a tree at 75mph, far exceeding the speed limit of 50mph. Both girls died at the scene, side by side, holding hands.
Dlava’s sister, Avin, who was also in the car, was injured in the crash. Avin did not learn about her sister’s death for months due to the severity of her own injuries.
The emotional toll on Avin was compounded by the fact that she had invited Dlava to the prom, and she expressed feelings of guilt for the tragedy. Avin was unable to remember much of the crash, with everything going black for her before the impact.
Court proceedings and the aftermath
McGinn has now pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of Kiea and Dlava, and also causing serious injury to Avin. In a victim impact statement, Kiea's mother, Teresa, spoke about the devastating loss of her daughter.
She shared how she had trusted McGinn to drive Kiea safely to the event, only to arrive at the crash scene and discover that her daughter was already gone. The family’s pain was further amplified when Kiea’s father, Frankie, expressed his anger in court. He shouted at McGinn, calling him a derogatory term, highlighting the grief and frustration the family felt.
During the trial, it was revealed that McGinn was unaware of how fast he was driving before the crash, and the court was shown disturbing footage of Kiea and Dlava's final moments in the car.
The speed at which the car was traveling more than 90mph in a 50mph zone was a clear indication of the danger they were in. McGinn’s failure to respond to the requests to slow down, coupled with his reckless driving, led to this devastating loss.
McGinn’s defense lawyer, Breffni Gordon, stated that McGinn had expressed remorse for his actions and apologized to the families of the victims. However, the families of Kiea and Dlava are left with the irreplaceable loss of two young lives full of promise. The sentence for McGinn is expected on May 14, but the emotional scars of this tragedy will remain with the families forever.