Two die in crash

The car crashed over embankment punching a hole in a wall

Two men have been killed in a road accident in County Antrim.

A third man was injured in the crash which happened at Trench Road, Mallusk, at about 0415 GMT on Monday.

He is in a critical condition in hospital.

The two who died were Gary Owen Black, 22, and David Patrick Anderson, 18, both from Alliance Avenue in Belfast.

The car left the Mallusk Road at its junction with the Hyde Park Road and careered over a steep bank, hitting the side of a building at a height of about 20 feet.

Crash investigators estimated that the car was airborne for almost 50 feet and that it turned in the air and hit the building backwards.

The Mallusk Road was closed between Trench Road and Tudor Park during the police investigation.

Father Aidan Troy, a parish priest in north Belfast, said he had been with the families.

"At this moment there are six parents, brothers, sisters and grandparents just beside themselves with grief.

"I was with the two families a few times today and I have been in the Royal Victoria where they have done a super job trying to keep the young 18-year-old alive - but we don¿t know yet the outcome of that."

Earlier in January, figures indicated that 15 children were among 150 people killed last year in road accidents in Northern Ireland.

The number of deaths for 2003 was the same as for 2002.