Ombudsman to probe Galway driver’s death

A man jumped off a bridge, falling to his death, after gardaí told him they were seizing his car for having no tax or insurance.

Stunned motorists and pedestrians looked on as David Johnston, aged 43, of Sleepzone Hostel, Galway, scaled O’Brien’s Bridge in Galway City and dropped into the torrent below. The scene unfolded at rush hour in the centre of the city as gardaí operated a planned checkpoint on Bridge St.

Garda sources said two members of the force stopped the man’s car at 6.20pm. After conducting a examination, they asked the man to step out of the car.

They notified him they were seizing his vehicle under road traffic legislation for having no tax and no insurance. “The man bolted and went over the wall and down into the torrent of the river,” said one source.

The river was in flood as a result of the recent downpours and the man was swept away. The gardaí ran after the man but could not stop him from jumping off O’Brien’s Bridge.

Emergency services were called to the scene, and the man’s body was found downstream and brought to University Hospital Galway, where he was pronounced dead.

The Garda Commissioner referred the incident to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. Those with information should call 1890 600 800.