Boy lucky to be alive after joyrider attack

A MOTHER yesterday said her son was lucky to be alive after he was hit by joyriders.

Kevin Glackin and a group of youngsters were leaving a party to celebrate St Patrick’s Day when they were targeted by other youths in a car which drove repeatedly at them.

Several of them were injured, but only one required hospital treatment. Police said the incident could easily have turned into tragedy.

The group had been attending a St Patrick’s Day party at Black’s Road in west Belfast when they were accosted by youths in the car who tried to steal drinks from some of the girls.

The party-goers had to dive into gardens to escape as the car mounted the pavement a number of times at speed and tried to hit.

Mrs Angela Glackin whose son Kevin was hurt said: “He can’t believe that he is still alive or not badly injured. Everybody there said that the driver was trying to kill them.

“Kevin was carried in the bonnet of the car before being thrown off.”

Superintendent Peter Farrar of the PSNI said: “Somebody could easily have been killed.

“When you drive onto a pavement straight at people, the likelihood is that you will kill someone and that is the way we are treating this.”

Local SDLP councillor Margaret Walsh said: “My own daughter was involved in a hit-and-run incident last week so I can understand the anxiety and distress something like this causes.

“We could have been looking at a major tragedy and as far as I am concerned this was attempted murder.”