Co Louth crash replace as £30,000 raised to ‘carry sufferer’s physique residence’

Family and friends of one of the victims of the horror crash in Co Louth have now smashed their fundraising target to bring home the body of their loved one.

Chloe Hipson tragically lost her life in a road accident while travelling in a car in Dundalk on Saturday (November 15).

The 21-year-old from Bellshill in Lanarkshire, Scotland, died alongside her four friends Chloe McGee, 23, Alan McCluskey, 23, Dylan Commins, 23, and Shay Duffy, 21, in the crash. A sixth victim thankfully recovered and has since been released from hospital.

Chloe studying at Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) and was currently in her second year. She was travelling with friends in a Volkswagen Golf while on their way to Dundalk for a night out when it was involved in a collision with a Toyota Land Cruiser.

Her family were faced with further heartache to bring Chole’s body back home to Scotland for her funeral.

A fundraiser was then launched by Bellshill Amateurs FC in Lanarkshire, where Ms Hipson’s brother Ryan is a player at the club, to help bring her body back home.

The fundraiser on GoFundMe, which is simply titled ‘Chloe Hipson’ has now reached over £30,000 in donations. The club needed to raise £15,000 to help towards costs to repatriate her body to Scotland.

The message on the page read: “Hi everyone, we as a club at Bellshill Amateurs were absolutely devastated to hear of the passing of 21-year-old Chloe Hipson. Chloe sadly passed away after being involved in road traffic collision in Ireland. A young woman ready to live her life taken from her family far too soon.

“Chloe is the younger sister of current player Ryan and we don’t have the words to convey how devastated we are for Ryan and his full family.

“We are looking to help the Hipson family raise funds towards funeral costs and the costs of bringing Chloe home so that they can say their goodbyes properly and give her the loving send off she deserves.”

Bellshill Amateurs FC have since paused donations and wrote a message of thanks to the generosity of the public.

The club said: “We would like to thank each and every one of you for your kindness over the last few days.

“We started this fundraiser in the hope of raising money to support the Hipson family during this horrible time, and thanks to your generosity we have managed to raise over £30,000.

“It has been an incredible show of kindness and togetherness from you all and again, on behalf of everyone at Bellshill Amateurs, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks.”

Chloe’s family held a gathering for friends and family last night at in the Eternity Room of Quinn’s Funeral Home in Dundalk ahead of her remains being repatriated to Scotland.

This comes as the first of the funerals of the Irish victims take place tomorrow (November 21).

Irish victims Alan McCluskey and Dylan Commins will be laid to rest tomorrow, with the funerals of Chloe McGee and Shay Duffy’s funerals being held on Saturday (November 22).

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