The Garda is to send a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions after releasing without charge an 18-year-old man arrested in connection with the road crash which claimed the lives of a garda and firefighter in Co Limerick early yesterday morning.
The man was arrested at the scene of the collision at Borrigone between Foynes and Askeaton on the N69 after his car struck Garda Brian Kelleher and firefighter Michael Liston as they attended the scene of a crash at about 5.15am.
Garda Kelleher, who was stationed at Croom in Co Limerick, and Mr Liston, who was attached to the Foynes fire brigade, were at the scene of a single vehicle crash along with a number of colleagues when they were hit by an Audi Coupe car.
Both men were attended to by the emergency services but were pronounced dead at the scene and their bodies were moved to hospital in Portlaoise where a postmortem was carried out yesterday afternoon by deputy State pathologist Dr Michael Curtis.
The 18-year-old driver of the car involved in the collision was arrested at the scene and was brought to Henry Street Garda station in Limerick.
The man was not injured and he was later released from custody without charge.
A full investigation will be carried out with a view to preparing a file for the DPP.
The tragedy began when the emergency services in west Limerick received a phone call at 4.44am reporting that a Toyota Carina car driven by a woman in her early 20s had overturned on a gradual, sweeping bend two-and-a-half miles east of Foynes.
Garda Kelleher was on patrol with his colleague, Garda Oliver O'Sullivan. They went to the scene. Mr Liston also went to the scene, along with five colleagues from Foynes fire brigade and another six colleagues from Rathkeale fire brigade.
The woman involved in the incident, who works as a nurse with the Health Service Executive Mid West, was not seriously injured.
She was being attended to in an ambulance at the scene when the fatal collision took place.
The emergency services personnel were just about to load her Toyota Carina on to a recovery truck when Garda Kelleher and Mr Liston were struck by the approaching car.
Firefighters and paramedics who witnessed the collision were later treated for shock.
According to members of Foynes fire brigade, they were within five to 10 minutes of having completed their work to make the road safe again when the black Audi Coupe struck both Garda Kelleher and Mr Liston, killing them instantly.
According to Supt Joe Roe of Askeaton Garda station, gardaí had put out flashing beacons and signs following the first crash to indicate that there had been a crash.
He said that their investigation will look at why the second driver failed to stop at these signs.
A Garda forensic crash investigator also began an examination of the scene of the collision yesterday morning, while the Audi Coupe was removed to Henry Street station for a mechanical examination by a Garda PSV inspector. Garda technical examiners also attended at the scene.
The Garda Air Support helicopter from Dublin assisted by allowing Garda investigators to obtain aerial photographs of the crash scene, some three-and-a-half miles from Askeaton.
The investigation of the crash led to the closure of about 1.5 miles of the road between Foynes and Askeaton for over eight hours yesterday. There was a series of diversions on the N69, with traffic diverted via Hanleys Cross.
