A man in his 50s has been released without charge after he was questioned in connection with a hit-and-run incident which resulted in the death of a pedestrian in Tullamore, Co Offaly.
A man in his 20s was found on the road at Killeigh, Tullamore in the early hours of yesterday with serious injuries. He was taken to Tullamore General Hospital but was later pronounced dead.
Gardaí said they arrested a 51-year-old man this morning in connection with the incident. He was detained for questioning at Tullamore Garda station under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.
Gardaí also renewed their appeal for witnesses to the incident to contact them at Tullamore station, at the Garda Confidential Telephone Line on 1800 666111 or at any Garda station.
Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar and senior gardaí yesterday appealed to motorists to take care on the roads this weekend after four fatalities since Friday.
A woman in her 40s died following a road traffic collision near Kells Co Meath yesterday, and a crash claimed the lives of a couple in their 60s in Co Cork on Friday evening.
Assistant Garda Commissioner John O'Mahoney, head of the Garda National Traffic Bureau, extended his sympathies to the families and friends of those who lost their lives and asked all road users "to take into consideration all road conditions including the weather and the presence of large volumes of holiday weekend traffic".
"Road Safety is everybody’s concern and by working together we can make the roads safer for all road users," he said.
Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar urged motorists to drive safely over the weekend, in the wake of the deaths.
"This bank holiday weekend has already seen four people killed on the roads. Heavy rainfall is being predicted for many parts of the country, so conditions on the roads are likely to be hazardous in some areas," Mr Varadkar said.
"Bank holidays are meant to be a time of fun and relaxation. However, these weekends are generally more dangerous for motorists, and see higher traffic levels. I would appeal to motorists everywhere to slow down, never drink and drive, and endeavour that no more lives are lost on the road this weekend.”
Some 69 people have been killed on the State's road so far this year - four fewer than in the same period last year.
Some 56,289 fixed penalty fines were issued by gardaí to motorists for speeding offences in the first quarter of this year alone. Some 3,429 were issued to people for not wearing their seatbelts.
A total of 3,266 people were prosecuted for drink driving offences, and 1,018 people were prosecuted for driving dangerously. Gardaí said preliminary results of investigations indicated that nine people who have died on the roads to date this year were not wearing a seatbelt.
Forty people were killed in a single vehicle collision, often late at night, with inappropriate speed also contributing to many of these collisions, a Garda spokesman said.