Tributes have poured in for a young footballer who was killed in a car crash.
Kian Dawson died when a car he was travelling in as a passenger was involved in a collision in County Donegal in Ireland last night.
The 16-year-old, from Carnhill in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, was pronounced dead at the scene on the R240 at Quigley’s Point at around 11.15pm.
A man aged in his 20s who was driving the car was seriously injured and taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
Emergency services closed the road to carry out forensic investigations to determine the cause of the crash.
Don Boscos, the football club Kian had represented for 11 years, paid tribute to ‘the most genuine, well mannered and unassuming young lad you could meet’.
‘Our hearts are sore today,’ the club said in a statement on Facebook.
‘We awoke this morning to the sad news that young Kian Dawson, a player in our 2007 group since the age of 5, had sadly passed after a road traffic accident last night in Donegal.
‘Kian and his father Emmett (a coach with our 2007s) have been an integral part of our club for many years, and have given us many wonderful and happy memories that we will cherish forever.
‘He was a credit to Don Boscos but more importantly to his mum and dad, Fiona and Emmett.
‘Kian will be forever remembered by his coaches, teammates and friends at Don Boscos. We are also thinking of you all at this heartbreaking time.
‘We send our love and deepest condolences to Kian’s parents Emmett and Fiona, his sister Abaìgael and to the wider Kirk and Dawson families.’
A whole host of other clubs across the region have also paid tribute and sent their condolences to the teenager’s family.
Gardai are appealing for any witnesses to the crash to come forward, particularly those with camera or dashcam footage from the area around the time of the incident.
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