NUI GALWAY HAS held a ceremony to pay tribute to the family that died in a car crash on the M6 motorway in Galway on the evening of 19 August. 

Karzan Sabah, Shahen Qasm and the Kurdish couple’s eight-month-old baby Lena were killed after their car was hit by a vehicle travelling in the wrong direction on the motorway near Ballinasloe at around 7.40pm.

The driver of the car which had been travelling in the opposite direction on the motorway has been named as Jonasz Lach. He was the only occupant of the vehicle.

All four people were pronounced dead at the scene and their bodies were removed to Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, for post-mortems.

The family lived in Galway city for several years, where Karzan had been completing a PhD in insect ecology at NUI Galway.

Members of the NUI Galway community gathered this evening on campus to pay tribute to the family. 

They were joined by family and friends and members of the Kurdish community to remember Karzan, Shahen and baby Lena. 

Our University community gathered tonight on campus, joined by family and friends and the Kurdish community, to remember Karzan, Shahen, and baby Line .
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha dílse. pic.twitter.com/o07BcfIJJy

— NUI Galway (@nuigalway) August 26, 2021

A third car was also involved in the incident as Gardaí believe debris from the initial collision struck the vehicle and caused the driver to crash.

The driver of the third car was the only occupant of that vehicle. She was taken to hospital for non life-threatening treatment.

Gardaí have appealed for witnesses to the incident to come forward, especially drivers with dashcam footage filmed along the stretch of motorway around the time of the collision.

With reporting by Céimin Burke