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| Tributes paid to quad crash teen | |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Tributes have been paid to a 14-year-old boy who died in a quad bike accident in Maghera on Thursday night. | |
| Paddy McErlean was on the vehicle with a 16-year-old friend who remains critically ill in hospital. | |
| The bike crashed into a post on the Craigmore Road in the County Londonderry town at about 2200 GMT. | |
| Ann Scott, the head teacher at Paddy's school, St Patrick's College, said everyone was finding it hard to come to terms with the teenager's death. | Ann Scott, the head teacher at Paddy's school, St Patrick's College, said everyone was finding it hard to come to terms with the teenager's death. |
| "This tragic accident really has brought a profound sense of loss to the school. | "This tragic accident really has brought a profound sense of loss to the school. |
| "The loss of Paddy, who was only 14, has just shocked everybody at the college," she said. | "The loss of Paddy, who was only 14, has just shocked everybody at the college," she said. |
| "He really contributed a lot to the school, he was full of life, he was such a lovely young lad, very popular with the staff and pupils and we will really miss him so terribly." | "He really contributed a lot to the school, he was full of life, he was such a lovely young lad, very popular with the staff and pupils and we will really miss him so terribly." |
| It is understood the boys were travelling along the quiet, rural road close to the McErlean family home, when they crashed and were thrown from the quad. | |
| SDLP Maghera councillor Kathleen Lagan said she knew the family very well and described the boy's death as "utterly heart-wrenching". | |
| 'Traumatic experience' | 'Traumatic experience' |
| The 16-year-old was treated in the Antrim Area Hospital after the accident but he has since been transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. | The 16-year-old was treated in the Antrim Area Hospital after the accident but he has since been transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. |
| Paddy's mother and two brothers are being comforted by relatives. | Paddy's mother and two brothers are being comforted by relatives. |
| Councillor Lagan said: "This is the most traumatic experience any parent, any person, can possibly got through and my heart goes out to the family. | Councillor Lagan said: "This is the most traumatic experience any parent, any person, can possibly got through and my heart goes out to the family. |
| Children visited the scene of the crash where floral tributes have been laid | Children visited the scene of the crash where floral tributes have been laid |
| "I know that the community, who hold the young boy and his family in such high esteem, will gather around and offer help or support during the tough times ahead. | "I know that the community, who hold the young boy and his family in such high esteem, will gather around and offer help or support during the tough times ahead. |
| "It may be of little consolation to the family but it shows just how well they are thought of in the community." | "It may be of little consolation to the family but it shows just how well they are thought of in the community." |
| Ms Lagan also said she hoped the other boy injured in the incident would make a speedy and full recovery. | Ms Lagan also said she hoped the other boy injured in the incident would make a speedy and full recovery. |
| Sinn Fein Councillor, Sean Kerr, who went to the scene of the accident on Thursday night said his immediate thoughts were with the two families. | Sinn Fein Councillor, Sean Kerr, who went to the scene of the accident on Thursday night said his immediate thoughts were with the two families. |
| "One is facing an awful bereavement as they come up to Christmas, and then the other family, who are the bedside of the young boy that was injured. | "One is facing an awful bereavement as they come up to Christmas, and then the other family, who are the bedside of the young boy that was injured. |
| "I also think we need to think about the young people who were there at the time, it must have been a very traumatic experience for them," he said. | "I also think we need to think about the young people who were there at the time, it must have been a very traumatic experience for them," he said. |