Victim of Castlepollard crash was missing for days

A man found dead in an apparent road crash in Castlepollard, Westmeath, had not been seen by friends or family for days.

Marcin Nowosielski, aged 47, was discovered in the driver’s seat of his car, a black Nissan Almera, in a ditch along the R395 at Teevrevagh yesterday at 6:30pm.

He was last seen in the early hours of Sunday, 30 June, when he was out socialising in the area.

Mr Nowosielski had not been formally reported missing, but Gardaí say his friends had been “concerned” for his welfare.

They are asking anyone with information about his movements to contact Mullingar Garda Station.

In a separate incident, a fatal road accident involving two vehicles occurred in Castlepollard at around 5:30 am this morning on the R394 at Garlandstown.

The occupant of one vehicle, a man in his 80s, suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, a woman in her 60s, was taken to Regional Hospital Tullamore, where she remains in critical condition.

The couple were understood to have been visiting Ireland when the crash occurred.

The occupants of the second vehicle, two men aged in their 20s and 30s, were also taken to Regional Hospital Mullingar with less serious injuries.

Some 97 people have now died on roads so far this year, an increase of 12 on the same period last year.

Speaking at a briefing in Castlepollard today, Superintendent Liam Geraghty said it was “very hard to pinpoint” what is behind the increase in road deaths.

“Quarter one this year was a tragic period when we had 59 road fatalities compared to 42 in the same period in 2023,” he said.

“But in the second quarter - April, May, and June - this year, while we still had 35 fatalities, that was a reduction from 41 the previous year.

“So, as a community and as a society, we can reduce road deaths on our roads, but that involves all of us taking care on the roads.

“It involves all of the state agencies doing our part, but also every road user playing their part to protect.”