Hunt continues for known criminals suspected in Killiney hit and run

Garda investigators have gathered CCTV footage of the suspects

Gardaí were last night continuing the hunt for suspects whose robbery getaway car was driven onto a pavement and killed Jacqueline McGovern.

The 54-year-old special needs assistant was killed when she was hit by the raiders in a car in Killiney, south Co Dublin, on Tuesday night.

A female friend of Ms McGovern was walking with her and was also injured in the crash but is expected to survive.

That woman also worked as a special needs assistant and gardaí said she was lucky to be alive after the driver of the car apparently lost control.

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The injured woman, who is in her 50s, and Ms McGovern were colleagues at Our Lady of Good Counsel Girls National School in Cabinteely.

Ms McGovern, a married mother of three adult children from Killiney, was still alive when the emergency services reached her at the crash scene at about 9.30pm on Tuesday.

She was treated at the scene before being taken by ambulance to St Vincent’s Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Just moments before the fatal collision two men threatened staff at a Centra store on Barnhill Road, Dalkey. They stole money before being driven away at speed by another man in a waiting car.

The fleeing driver appeared to lose control of the vehicle at the junction of Ballinclea Road and Avondale Road, Killiney, where the women were struck.

Gardaí believe they know who the raiders are and they are confident they will apprehend them, though the search for them was continuing last night.

The Garda investigators working on the case have gathered CCTV footage of the suspects and their vehicle, and have also interviewed witnesses who saw the men.

While the suspects have not yet been interviewed, Garda sources said significant progress had been made with the inquiry.

The men suspected of raiding the shop and then speeding away before hitting the two women are from south Co Dublin. They are in their 20s and are known for robberies and assaults.

The vehicle they used was so badly damaged in the crash it could not be driven any further. The men abandoned it and escaped the scene on foot.

Conor Lally

Conor Lally

Conor Lally is Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times