Fatal crash victims were friends and workmates

The two women who died in a traffic accident near Randalstown on Monday were friends and workmates.
Police near the Randalstown accident scene on Monday morning. Pacemaker.Police near the Randalstown accident scene on Monday morning. Pacemaker.
Police near the Randalstown accident scene on Monday morning. Pacemaker.

Michelle McStravick (35), from Randalstown, and Lorraine Clyde (56), from Antrim worked as care assistants for Homecare Independent Living in Coleraine.

Michelle McStravick had a teenage daughter and was well known as a fitness instructor and bodbybuilding competitor. She was a trainer at the Pure Fitness Gym in Ballymena.

Members of her various fitness classes took to social media to pay tribute to her character, drive and energy which had helped them achieve personal goals.

Lorraine Clyde was married with children and was well-known in Antrim as a patrol lady for St Comgall’s Primary School.

The crash happened around 7.55am yesterday in Randalstown, on the junction of the Church Road and the Moneyrod Road. The two work colleagues were driving a grey Citroen at the time of the collision.

A man and a woman travelling in a silver-coloured Ford Focus sustained non-life threatening injuries in the incident.

Bredan Surgeoner, who owns Pure Fitness gym in Ballymena, said: “She was a great competitor and was ready to compete this weekend for Miss Bikini and take another trophy. It’s just so sad.”

Police have appealed for anyone travelling on the Church Road on Monday morning who witnessed the collision to contact local police in Antrim.