Teenage motorist released after fatal road crash

A teenage motorist who was arrested following a fatal road crash in Letterkenny, County Donegal, on St Patrick’s Day has been released without charge.

A man in his 60s, named locally as Anthony Gallagher, died after he and his brother, who is also in his 60s, were hit by a car on Lower Main Street at about 03:00 local time on Monday.

The injured man is being treated for serious injuries in University Hospital Galway.

Letterkenny’s St Patrick’s Day parade was cancelled due to the crash and about 200 people attended a vigil in the town for the two brothers on Monday.

In a statement on Tuesday, An Garda Síochána (the Irish police service) said files would be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Garda youth diversion bureau and investigations into the crash are ongoing.

The Mayor of Letterkenny and Milford, Gerry McMonagle, said the incident had left a dark cloud over the local community.

“People turned out in large numbers to the vigil and people were visibly shocked,” he told BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme.

“There is just a real sense of disbelief that something like this has happened – there was a stunned silence at the vigil last night and it’s just so hard to take in.”

McMonagle said Anthony Gallagher was a much-loved lollipop man at a local school.

“I am sure the children, as they head back to school today, will be sorely missing him and all of the teachers and friends around the town.”

Organisers of the St Patrick’s Day parade posted on social media that it was with “deep regret” that the event had been cancelled.

They said the decision was made after consultation with gardaí as the parade route was directly affected and it was “impossible to proceed as planned”.