Gardaí have arrested a man following their search for a hit-and-run driver who left the scene of a crash last month that claimed the life of 21-year student journalist Joe Drennan in Limerick City.
The suspect, who is in his late teens, was arrested on Sunday and was being detained at a Limerick City Garda station under Section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1999.
Mr Drennan was standing at bus stop on Dublin Road, Castletroy, at about 9.50pm on Friday, October 13th, when he was hit by a driver and killed. The driver who hit him also crashed into another car, injuring the male driver, in his 40s, and his woman passenger.
However, while the two people in the other vehicle were taken from the crash scene to hospital, they had not suffered life-threatening injuries. In the four weeks since the crash, the investigation into it has continued as gardaí sought to identify and then locate the driver who fled the scene.
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The driver had also come to the attention of gardaí just before the fatal crash and, because of that, the case was referred by the Garda to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc). In any case where a person has had any interactions with the Garda, before an incident involving loss or life or serious injury, the matter must be referred to Gsoc.
However, such a referral does not disbar the Garda continuing a criminal investigation into the core incident, meaning the inquiry into the killing of Mr Drennan has continued in recent weeks.
There was shock at the death of Mr Drennan, who was shortlisted for Journalist of the Year at the annual national Student Media Awards. On the night he was killed he was waiting for a bus after he had finished a shift at a local restaurant.
From Mountrath, Co Laois, he was described as “an inspirational student and a hugely talented young journalist, who had a bright career ahead” by Dr Kathryn Hayes, course director of the BA Journalism and Digital Communication course at University of Limerick.
“We are absolutely devastated in the journalism department and in the wider UL community to learn of the tragic death of our student Joe Drennan,” she said at the time. “Our heartfelt sympathies are with Joe’s family at this terrible time and all of his classmates and many dear friends.”
