A father-of-two (47) was killed in Co Monaghan on Tuesday night when his parked car was struck by a speeding vehicle which was being pursued at the time by gardaí.
The fatal collision involving two cars took place at West Street, Castleblayney at 11.30pm.
The incident began in York Street, close to the local Garda station, when a garda attempted to stop and question the driver of a Silver Audi A6 car in the street. The car was driven off at high speed and the garda was dragged for about 500 metres before before it crashed into another car, a Skoda Octavia, on Main Street/Upper West Street in the town.
The garda was taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital for facial, head, and leg injuries. The suspected driver of the car was arrested at the scene.
The deceased man, named by gardaí as Stephen Marron from Castleblayney, was a leading local community worker and key member of Castleblayney GAA Hurling Club.
He is survived by his parents, his wife and two children, a boy (5) and a girl (8). His body was taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital where a postmortem will be carried out by the office of the State pathologist’.
The injured garda has since been released from hospital. “Garda Michael Devlin, 31-years-old, who was injured has now been discharged from Hospital. Garda Devlin is stationed in Monaghan Garda Station,” a Garda spokesman said.
The suspected driver of the silver Audi, a 34-year-old man, was arrested at the scene and is detained at Carrickmacross Garda station under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984. He can be questioned for up to 36 hours.
A large section of the street in the border town was closed off to facilitate an examination of the area by Garda forensic collision investigators and crime scene examiners.
The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission was involved in the investigation and has deployed a team of investigators to examine the scene.
In a statement issued on behalf of Muckno (Castleblayney & Oram), the priests and people of the parish said they were “shocked and deeply saddened” by Mr Marron’s death.
“Stephen was an active member of our parish community, serving as assistant sacristan at Saint Mary’s Church, Castleblayney and Saint Patrick’s Church, Oram.
“Stephen also served as a Minister of the Word at our liturgical gatherings and was a member of our Parish Safeguarding Committee. He was a devoted member of the wider Castleblayney community, particularly through sports organisations. Above all, Stephen was a loving and devoted husband and father, a son, brother, and a good friend to many.”
Canon Shane McCaughey, said “Stephen was the go-to-man for everyone in the community of Muckno parish. He was a disciple of Jesus Christ who asks his followers to love God and love neighbour. Stephen bore witness to his faith through the generosity and kindness that he showed to all who were in any kind of need. He said the prayed for his “ wife, their children, his parents and sisters and his many friends”
Local councillor Jackie Crowe said : “This is seen as a shocking tragedy in the town. The victim was a key figure locally and nobody could anticipate such a fatality taking place”.
Another local councillor, Aidan Campbell, said : “Everyone is in shock and the sympathy of the entire community is going out to the victim’s wife and children as well as to his grieving parents. This tragedy has thrown a terrible wave of grief over the whole community”.
Any witnesses are asked to contact Carrickmacross Garda station on 042 9690190.
Meanwhile, a man in his 30s remains in a critical condition in hospital after being struck by a truck while out walking in Co Tipperary on Tuesday evening. The incident occurred at about 6.30pm just outside Clonmel, on the Cahir road.