Final loving texts between teenage crash victims shared at funeral

Loving messages exchanged between a teenage couple who were killed in a road crash have been shared at one of their funerals.

Kamile Vaicikonyte, 17, and her boyfriend Jamie Moore, 19, died in a single-vehicle crash on the A5 near Omagh, Co Tyrone on Tuesday.

Kamile's funeral took place at St Mary's Church in Aughnacloy on Saturday ahead of a planned service for Mr Moore at Mountjoy Presbyterian Church near Omagh later in the day.

Their deaths on the Doogary Road outside Omagh came amid an ongoing campaign for a long-delayed upgrade of the A5 to be approved.

Year 13 student Kamile had attended an event at her school, St Ciaran's in Ballygawley, highlighting the death rate on the road the day before losing her own life on the A5.

She had signed a petition calling for the upgrade work to begin.

Her white coffin was carried through Aughnacloy ahead of the requiem mass.

During the service, the last messages the couple had sent each other were read to mourners.

An uncle of the schoolgirl told the service: "They were found on her phone. It was Jamie saying 'Kamile, l only ever want to be in your hands' and Kamile said 'my hands are the only place I want you to be'.

"It is a very bittersweet ending for us because although we miss them, we know that their love was true.

"They may well have been young, but they could have taught us a thing or two, that is, love overcomes everything."

He described Kamile as a "lovely girl" who was "free spirited" with the "most wonderful smile".

"No matter what, Kamile always looked at the future with bright, bright hopes," he said.

Priest Cathal Deveney told service that Kamile's participation in the school event about the A5 upgrade demonstrated her "commitment and love and caring for others".

"Little did we know that a few hours later she would die tragically on the A5," he said.

He said Kamile had planned extensively for her future and was hoping to go to university to study sociology and criminology.

"But her plans weren't to be," he added.

Mr Moore was a former pupil at Omagh High School. The talented footballer had plans to become a personal trainer.

A scheme to turn the A5 into a dual carriageway was first approved by the Stormont Executive in 2007 but it has been held up by legal challenges and uncertainty over funding.

Lobbying for progress, the Enough is Enough campaign group has highlighted the high volume of fatal collisions on the route, which links Londonderry with Aughnacloy in Co Tyrone.

There have been more than 50 fatalities on the road since 2006.

Stormont Infrastructure Minister John O'Dowd is currently considering a report compiled by the Planning Appeals Commission after last summer's public inquiry into the road-building project.

He has said he will make a decision on whether to give the go-ahead for the project as soon as all aspects of the PAC report are fully considered and assessed.

Mr O'Dowd has asked to meet senior police officers to discuss the ongoing safety concerns associated with the A5.