Hit and run driver leaves baby with broken leg

A MAN was being questioned by gardaí last night after a baby girl received a broken leg when a hit and run driver knocked down a young mother and her two children on a Co Limerick road.

Little Leal O’Brien, from Thomastown, Kilfinane has undergone surgery at Croom Orthopaedic Hospital for her injuries and is said not to be in any danger.

Gardaí yesterday arrested a man in his 20s from the Kilfinane area and impounded a car which is undergoing forensic examination.

The incident happened at around 6.30pm on Sunday.

Georgina O’Brien was wheeling a double buggy with 10-month-old Leal and her two-year-old son Cillian on the right-hand side of the road when a car came against them at high speed.

It mounted the grass verge, throwing the two children onto the road.

The incident happened in the townland of Ballintubber between Ballylanders and Kilfinane.

Supt Jim Browne, who is heading the investigation said: “The car had a 96 LK registration number and it had poor headlights and a noisy exhaust. This was a despicable act.”

Supt Browne said anybody in the area at the time should contact gardaí at Bruff.

“It is a very serious incident and is being treated as such,” he said.

The baby girl was taken to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick before being transferred to Croom orthopaedic hospital where her conditions is said to be comfortable.

Mrs O’Brien and Cillian were both treated for shock.