A woman aged in her twenties has been released without charge following a hit and run in Limerick that left a Garda seriously injured.
The woman, reported to be a young mother in her twenties, was arrested in relation to the incident. It is understood that the woman, who is from Limerick, fled the scene of the accident and drove to a property close by before contacting the gardaí. It is believed the medical attention the officer, aged in his fifties, received at the scene was crucial in saving his life.
The Independent reports that the woman was arrested after failing a breath test, and she was later detained at Henry Garda station while her car was taken for examination.
The incident happened on Thursday evening, with the Garda, who was a cyclist, found with serious injuries shortly after 7.15pm. Garda had rushed to the scene of the accident, which took place on the R522 located between Dromcollogher and Feohanagh close to Newcastle West.
Gardaí have appealed for witnesses to come forward with information about the devastating incident which left off-duty garda, Niall Flood, with a severed foot and other serious injuries. The injuries the well-respected Garda suffered have been reported to be ‘horrific’. Mr Flood was airlifted by the Irish Community Air Ambulance charity to Cork University Hospital, where he remains and is being treated for serious injuries.
Drivers who were travelling on the R522 between Dromcollogher and Feohanagh at the time of the incident with camera – including dashcam – footage have been urged to provide it to Gardaí.
The investigation is ongoing and it is believed a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
His injuries were described as “life-changing” by the Garda Representative Association, which took to Twitter on Monday to express support for Mr Flood.
“Our thoughts today are with our colleagues who were injured over the weekend both on and off duty, some with devastating and life-changing injuries. We are thinking of you at this difficult time,” the association tweeted.
Fine Gael TD Ciarán Cannon took to Twitter over the weekend to offer his well wishes. Mr Cannon was himself seriously injured when he was hit by an SUV while out cycling last summer. He has urged cyclists to be respected as legitimate road users.
The Galway East politician was thrown off his bike by the SUV as he was cycling in Moycullen and sustained a serious knee fracture.
He said on Saturday: “It’s the first anniversary of my incident in Moycullen that left me with a life changing injury. I’m going to attempt this to celebrate being back on my beloved bike. Thinking today of Inspector Niall Flood and his family. #SafeSpace #VisionZero.”
It’s the first anniversary of my incident in Moycullen that left me with a life changing injury. I’m going to attempt this to celebrate being back on my beloved bike. Thinking today of Inspector Niall Flood and his family. #SafeSpace #VisionZero pic.twitter.com/NdTWne9xSg
— Ciaran Cannon (@ciarancannon) July 2, 2022
Aughrim Kilmore Parish said that the Garda’s family had been in touch to thank people for their support.
“The Flood Family have been in touch and they want to Thank everyone for their messages of support and Well wishes for Niall . It goes without saying that we all pray for Niall’s recovery”, a Facebook post read.