Shocking Mix-Up With Fermanagh Crash Victims

Compounding a Disasterous Week, Morgue Gives The Wrong Bodies To Families

By Colm Heatley

A road crash which claimed the lives of four young people in Fermanagh ended in further tragedy when it emerged that the families of two of the victims had been given the wrong bodies to bury.

Anita Swift (16), Danica O'Rourke (17), Peter Leonard (21) and Jonathon McDonald (21) were killed when the Honda Civic car they were back seat passengers in left the road and smashed into a tree outside Lisnaskea, Co Fermanagh last Sunday night.

The family of Anita Swift carried out a funeral service on Wednesday.

However Danica O'Rourke's funeral was delayed on Thursday amid concerns that the bodies of the two girls had been mixed up at the morgue.

Danica O'Rourke and Anita Swift were cousins.

After DNA testing it was confirmed that the families' of the two girls had been given the wrong bodies and the body of Danica O'Rourke, who had been mistakenly buried by the Swift family on Wednesday, was exhumed on Thursday night.

The Swift family conducted a private funeral at 6.30am on Friday morning.

Danica O'Rourke's body was returned to her family on Thursday and buried the following day.

Local Priest, Fr Michael King, said the ordeal had placed a huge strain on the families at a time of deep mourning.

"Obviously it is awful to bury someone you think is our daughter, only to have to exhume the body the next day and go through the whole ordeal again," he said.

"It is an awful thing to happen and the only thing I can say is that the Swift family are glad to have some form of closure.

"The deaths shocked the community, and the mix up has compounded a very deep sense of loss and grief".

Suspicions that the bodies of the two girls had been wrongly returned to their families were first raised by friends of the teenagers.

Although both girls had suffered severe injuries they were returned to their homes for the wake in open coffins.

"Anita's family had their own suspicions but didn't want to voice them in case it sounded like they couldn't accept their daughter was dead," said Fr King.

"Friends of the girls though noticed that there were differences, even in terms of hairstyles".

It is believed the identification process was made more difficult not only by the injuries suffered by the two girls but by their family relationship.

The two men killed in the same crash, Jonathon McDonald and Peter Leonard were also buried on Wednesday and Thursday.

The driver of the car was arrested by police but later released after questioning.

Eight people were killed in separate crashes on Ireland's roads in a 36 hour period last weekend.

This year looks set to be the worst ever for fatalities on Irish roads despite increased awareness of road safety and government initiatives to combat dangerous driving.