Car driven wrong way down Cork road 'like it was in Grand Theft Auto'

St Luke's Cross in Cork. Picture: Larry Cummins

A car was driven the wrong way down a busy road in Cork City, “like it was in Grand Theft Auto’, almost hitting pedestrians, just hours after the horror M9 crash which killed five teenagers and seriously injured a family of four.

One witness told the Irish Examiner that she thought she was going to be killed when she saw a car hurtling towards her in St Luke’s, a busy area on the city’s northside, after 5pm on Monday.

“It was like the driver thought he was in Grand Theft Auto and would get points for the more people he hit," she said.

“He was heading straight towards me on the pavement and I thought I was going to die.

“Then he suddenly veered off and headed straight towards a car with a family, including a small child in the back," she added.

“But he wrenched control again and veered away from them, going the wrong way through St Luke's Cross.” 

The car then crashed into the pavement by the former church — a busy area for pedestrians which is next to a primary school. 

The area underwent recent work to make it safer for children and crossing.

“People were shouting, ‘get the registration plate’ and ‘call the gardaí'. He managed to somehow get the car started again and came straight back up the road on the wrong side again," said the witness.

The car was lurching out of control. People were shouting for someone to stop him.

The car stalled and a man ran up, reached in the open window, and pulled the keys from the ignition, passing them to someone he knew in the crowd.

“The driver got out of the car. He was a young man in his 20s or late teens. He had short, dark hair and pale skin, wearing shorts and a t-shirt," the witness said.

“He took off his t-shirt and wiped down the inside of the car for fingerprints, and then he legged it up the road with his top off.

“Apparently he got on the number 7 bus then and left.” 

He had already been involved in a crash on nearby Dillons Cross earlier that day, the witness said.

She described the car as badly damaged, possibly with a broken axle, and it was driving with a blown-out tyre.

The car, a black Opel Insignia with a Cork registration plate, was abandoned at the busy junction, facing the wrong way on the road for some time, with a local man directing traffic before gardaí arrived, she said.

The witness, who lives in the area, said she has noticed an increase in criminality and volatility in the area in recent months.