‘Major criminal’ questioned after fatal hit-and-run

A man described as a "major criminal" has been questioned by gardaí in connection with a fatal hit-and-run which left a woman dead as she crossed a road on a green pedestrian light.

The 40-year-old woman was knocked down near the Goldenbridge Luas Stop on Davitt Road in Drimnagh, south Dublin on Friday night.

Garda sources said the woman, named locally as Caroline Watkins, from Ballyfermot, was crossing the road on a green man at around 10.30pm when she was struck by a car, which failed to stop.

There were witnesses there at the time and the victim was brought to nearby St James’s Hospital, where staff were unable to save her life. The dark-coloured car sped up Davitt Road in the direction of the Naas Road. Gardaí said it would have had damage to the front and to the windscreen.

Gardaí said there had been reported sightings of the car in the Clondalkin and Firhouse areas.

A Garda source said that CCTV cameras along Davitt Road recorded the car before and after, although it did not capture the actually collision.

Gardaí traced the registration and tracked the owner down to an address in Drimnagh.

The man was arrested on Saturday afternoon and detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act at Sundrive Road Garda Station.

Sources said the man said “absolutely nothing” and he was released at the end of the 24-hour maximum detention period yesterday afternoon.

The man’s car has been seized and detectives are now waiting for the results of forensic tests on the damage to the car.

The man, aged in his 30s, is considered by gardaí to be a “major criminal” in the area, but declined to give further details.

It is understood that up to three witnesses to the incident have been willing to co-operate with gardaí.

A file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Meanwhile, detectives are continuing to investigate the cause of a man’s death in west Dublin at the weekend. Ian Quinn, aged 31, from Tallaght, was found dead at an apartment in Ongar. Initial signs indicated he may have been asphyxiated.

Two women in the flat were arrested and questioned in relation to the man’s death.

However, a postmortem conducted yesterday proved “inconclusive” and detectives are now awaiting the results of further tests in a bid to establish what caused his death and whether or not it was at the hands of a third party.

The two women were released without charge yesterday evening.

The course of the Garda investigation will become clear when the results of further postmortem and toxicology tests are known.

Meanwhile, a 34-year-old man is in critical condition after being stabbed in Sligo at 10am on Saturday. The man was brought to Sligo Regional Hospitaland he was later airlifted to University College Hospital Galway.