A student living in Dublin who was hospitalised after being allegedly hit by a car during a robbery has spoken about how the incident had left him “very shaken”.
Alfredo Gallegos Romano (25), who moved to the Republic from Mexico in March last year, was walking to get a bus to the airport with his girlfriend last Sunday when a car pulled up beside the pair.
The English-language student said a man jumped out of the car and attempted to rob the couple.
“He shouted ‘give me your things’,” Mr Gallegos Romano said.
While he initially tried to run away, he stopped as the man was confronting his partner, he said.
The student, who also works as a tour guide in Dublin city, said during the incident he was hit by the car, which broke his leg. He said after he was hit by the car one man took his wallet and the group drove away.
“I was very shaken. My leg is broken. My girlfriend started yelling,” he told The Irish Times. “It could have ended worse,” he said.
The incident occurred on Shantalla Road, Beaumont, north Dublin, he said. While the couple had been due to travel to Berlin for a holiday, he spent several days in Beaumont Hospital as a result of his injuries.
A Garda spokeswoman confirmed gardaí were investigating “an incident which occurred on the Shantalla Road”, during the early hours of April 23rd.
“No arrests have been made. Investigations are ongoing,” she said.
Mr Gallegos Romano was discharged from hospital on Thursday, but said he expected he would be unable to work for at least two or three months.
“It’s not something I expected here. I love this country,” he said. “I know this doesn’t represent all the country,” he said.
His girlfriend was left shaken by the experience.
“Now she is scared to go to work to get the bus”, he said.
The incident had affected his own mental health, he said. The student added he was concerned that he would be unable to work for several months.
“Dublin is a very expensive city,” he said. It would be “difficult” financially, with the couple now having to rely solely on his partner’s income, he said.
