GARDAÍ BELIEVE a woman who died after being found with head injuries at the side of a busy roundabout was pushed or more likely jumped from a moving car.
The Irish Timesunderstands the dead woman was found by chance by gardaí who were patrolling in Waterford city after receiving a report of dangerous driving.
The 39 year old from Lithuania was still alive when found by the side of the road at Couse Bridge roundabout on Waterford’s outer ring road just before midnight on Saturday.
She was taken by ambulance to Waterford Regional Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The woman was last night named locally in Waterford as Zana Alen, with an address on Tramore Road.
Gardaí have arrested a man for questioning about Ms Alen’s death. He is a Lithuanian national and was well known to the deceased.
Gardaí believe the arrested man and Ms Alen were travelling in a car together on Saturday night close to where she was found injured. They believe Ms Alen either fell or was pushed from the car as it was travelling at speed.
A postmortem has revealed she died of head injuries but has also shown she was not assaulted. Her injuries were consistent with hitting the road at speed.
The Garda investigation has not been upgraded to a murder inquiry and it is still being treated as a suspicious death.
A number of witnesses saw the incident and it is believed they have told gardaí it appeared Ms Alen jumped from the vehicle rather than being pushed.
The man in custody was being questioned about the circumstances of the fatal incident. It is believed he and the deceased may have been drinking earlier and got into a row.
The arrested man, a 29 year old who also has an address in Waterford, was being questioned under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, and can be held for up to 24 hours without charge.
Garda sources said when gardaí went to the scene to investigate the reports of dangerous driving they had only found Ms Alen a matter of minutes when the man now being questioned arrived on the scene and explained who he was. He was than taken into custody.
The area where Ms Alen was found injured was sealed off yesterday and examined by members of the Garda Technical Bureau. The roads between Couse Bridge roundabout, Airport Road roundabout and Ballindud Road roundabout were closed for a long period for the Garda examinations.
Gardaí in Waterford are also studying CCTV footage of the city on Saturday in an effort to establish the car Ms Alen fell or was pushed from. They are also looking to establish the movements of the arrested man’s car around the time of the incident.
Gardaí are appealing for anyone who may have seen the fatal incident or a car driving dangerously in the area to contact them.
They are also appealing for anyone who may have seen a man and woman arguing in the area of Kill St Lawrence on Saturday night to contact them.