Gardaí injured after car rammed

TWO Limerick gardaí narrowly escaped death yesterday after their patrol car was rammed during a high-speed chase.

The gardaí were treated at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Two youths in the car that rammed them were also injured and taken to hospital, where gardaí were waiting to interview them yesterday.

The driver of the speeding car ran from the scene.

The incident happened at 1.15am when gardaí mounted a checkpoint in O’Malley Park.

An English-registered car was stopped and as the number was being checked, the driver put down his foot and took off. A high-speed chase ensued across green open areas and through streets in Southill.

A second patrol car arrived as back-up and the car being pursued spun out of control and rammed into it.

The male Garda in his 40s and his female colleague in her 20s were allowed out of hospital yesterday after being kept in overnight for observation.

The car involved in the incident was taken to Roxboro Road Garda Station for forensic examination.

The incident comes four weeks after a Garda car was fired on by a sniper as it did a routine patrol in Southill.