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A head-on crash left six people - including two children - in hospital after a car being watched by gardai careered into an oncoming vehicle.

A two-year-old boy and a seven-year-old girl were among those injured in the horror smash in Monasterevin, Co Kildare on Sunday afternoon.

It is believed that a car which three young man were travelling in was seen near the scene of recent burglaries and was seen driving dangerously just before the collision.

Gardai were trying to locate the car at the time but were not in pursuit at the time of the accident, it’s believed.

The incident is now the subject of a Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) inquiry and investigators were on the scene yesterday.

Eyewitnesses said a helicopter landed near the scene and airlifted at least one of the injured to hospital.

In a statement Gardai said: “Gardaí are investigating a two car crash at Ballagh, Monasterevin, Co Kildare on the Portarlington to Monasterevin Road which occurred at midday.

“Six people in total were injured. Three occupants of one car injured were injured, all males in their teens or early 20s.

“One was taken to Tullamore General Hospital but is not thought to be seriously injured, one with serious injuries was taken to Tallaght Hospital and a third was taken to Tallaght Hospital with serious injured and has since been transferred Beaumont Hospital.

“An adult male and two children a boy and a girl, occupants of second car, were also injured and taken to Tullamore Hospital.”

There has been a spate of burglaries in the area in recent months which gardai believe have been carried out by a Traveller gang which specialises in these crimes.

Gardaí are appealing for witness to contact them at Kildare Garda station on (045) 527730.

In a separate incident, a women who was critically injured when her car left the road was airlifted to hospital.

The accident happened shortly after noon on Saturday on at Darragh in Co Clare on the N68 Ennis to Kilrush road.

It is believed the Toyota Avensis left the road and smashed through a ditch and rolled over and ended up on its roof.

The male driver was taken from the vehicle but a woman passenger was trapped inside until she was cut out by emergency services.

The badly injured women was airlifted to University Hospital Galway while the driver was brought to University Hospital Limerick by ambulance.