Paddy McErlean, 14, was killed in the quad bike collision in Maghera Tributes have been paid to a 14-year-old boy who died in a quad bike accident in Maghera on Thursday night. Paddy McErlean was on the vehicle with a 16-year-old friend who remains critically ill in hospital. The bike crashed into a post on the Craigmore Road in the County Londonderry town at about 2200 GMT. Ann Scott, the head teacher at Paddy's school, St Patrick's College, said everyone was finding it hard to come to terms with the teenager's death. "This tragic accident really has brought a profound sense of loss to the school. "The loss of Paddy, who was only 14, has just shocked everybody at the college," she said. "He really contributed a lot to the school, he was full of life, he was such a lovely young lad, very popular with the staff and pupils and we will really miss him so terribly." It is understood the boys were travelling along the quiet, rural road close to the McErlean family home, when they crashed and were thrown from the quad. SDLP Maghera councillor Kathleen Lagan said she knew the family very well and described the boy's death as "utterly heart-wrenching". 'Traumatic experience' The 16-year-old was treated in the Antrim Area Hospital after the accident but he has since been transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. Paddy's mother and two brothers are being comforted by relatives. Councillor Lagan said: "This is the most traumatic experience any parent, any person, can possibly got through and my heart goes out to the family. Children visited the scene of the crash where floral tributes have been laid "I know that the community, who hold the young boy and his family in such high esteem, will gather around and offer help or support during the tough times ahead. "It may be of little consolation to the family but it shows just how well they are thought of in the community." Ms Lagan also said she hoped the other boy injured in the incident would make a speedy and full recovery. Sinn Fein Councillor, Sean Kerr, who went to the scene of the accident on Thursday night said his immediate thoughts were with the two families. "One is facing an awful bereavement as they come up to Christmas, and then the other family, who are the bedside of the young boy that was injured. "I also think we need to think about the young people who were there at the time, it must have been a very traumatic experience for them," he said.
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A 14-year-old boy has been killed in an accident involving a quad bike in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The boy has been identified as Paddy McErlean, who crashed near his house in the town of Maghera.

What is believed to have happened is that Paddy was travelling on an all-terrain vehicle with a 16-year-old boy along a rural road at around 2200 GMT on Thursday when the vehicle smashed into a post, the boys were then thrown from the road. The 16-year-old boy is critically injured and as of yet has not been identified.

Ann Scott, who is the head teacher in St. Patrick's College, which is the high school that Paddy attended, said: "This tragic accident really has brought a profound sense of loss to the school. The loss of Paddy, who was only 14, has just shocked everybody at the college. He really contributed a lot to the school, he was full of life, he was such a lovely young lad, very popular with the staff and pupils and we will really miss him so terribly."