Main Street in Arklow, Co Wicklow, remained cordoned off last night after the early-morning incident involving a car in which a 21-year-old local man was killed.
The man, who was named locally as Daniel McDonald, of Cherryfield, Arklow, had just left Rascals late-night music venue shortly before 2am yesterday when he was struck by a car as he made his way along Main Street.
Mr McDonald was taken to St Columcille's Hospital in Loughlinstown, where he died as a result of his injuries. The driver of the car was arrested and later released pending analysis of a sample taken for suspected drink-driving.
The scene of the crash was preserved yesterday for technical examination, resulting in the closure of about 100 metres of Main Street.
A red 1993 Dublin-registered Honda Civic car, the front of which was extensively damaged, was in the street close to the Bridge Street junction. Its windscreen and a rear passenger side window were broken.
Some 20 feet behind the car gardaí had spread sawdust on the road. A bollard on the southern side of the street had been uprooted and a granite kerb had been split.
There was also damage to the doorway of Eric Barron's Menswear and the window of the next door boutique, Oxygen, was broken.
Garda yellow tags had been attached to some 36 separate pieces of car, pavement, bollard and other damage on the roadway.
A number of bunches of flowers had been left at the scene by local people.
Gardaí were investigating reports that Mr McDonald had been involved in an earlier altercation in Rascals bar, which locals said involved a dispute over a spilt drink.
As townspeople stood around in groups close to the incident site three young men who said they were friends of Mr McDonald said he had been walking home peacefully at the time he was killed.
They said Mr McDonald was not the kind of man to court trouble and had been very popular particularly in the local football club.
A barman from the Mary B public house, John Harmon, said he came on the scene as he left work at 2am yesterday. He said the gardaí had already sealed off the area.
Local community activist Tess Enright, from Arklow, said Main Street had recently become a very rowdy place late at night, particularly at weekends.
"People are out drinking and smoking on the street and it is nearly impossible to get around the corner to Bridge Street."
As darkness fell last night, local gardaí, under the direction of Supt Catherine Kehoe, held a case conference.
Uniformed gardaí and members of the Garda traffic corps continued to preserve the scene.
The Garda Press Office could not confirm local reports that the Garda Technical Bureau was being brought in to take evidence at the scene.