GARDAÍ this Monday arrested a man in connection with the death of young mother Marguerita Sheridan, following a hit-and-run incident in Rathkeale this past Saturday (December 21).
A van believed to have been involved in the fatal collision was also recovered by Gardaí this morning, and was to be the subject of a Garda forensic examination.
Ms Sheridan (22) was critically injured when a silver Ford Transit van struck a set of gates at the entrance to a property at Bank Place in the town at around 12.15pm on Saturday.
Ms Sheridan, who was standing by the gates when the van struck, pinning her against a wall, was pronounced dead shortly afterwards at University Hospital Limerick.
The driver of the van involved did not stop to render assistance and fled the scene in the vehicle. It’s not known if there were others in the van at the time.
Ms Sheridan gave birth to her first child, a son, three weeks ago and her family were overjoyed at the new arrival to the family for Christmas.
A post mortem was due to be carried out on the young mother’s remains, the results of which will help determine the course of the ongoing Garda investigation.
Ms Sheridan’s friends described her as a “beautiful, intelligent young lady” and that her death was “every mother and father’s worst nightmare”.
John Sheridan, father of the deceased, posted a poignant video of his late daughter on social media, showing Ms Sheridan preparing for her recent wedding day, along with a caption that read: “Rest in Peace Marguerita, heaven has a special place for you sweet angel.”
Alongside a picture of his late daughter and newly born grandson, Mr Sheridan wrote: “I will be with you everyday.”
Local Fine Gael councillor and family friend, Adam Teskey, described the Sheridan family as “extremely well-respected people in the Rathkeale community”.
Cllr Teskey said the town was “numb with sadness” and asked the local community to “provide its full support to An Garda Siochana”.
Gardaí reiterated an appeal for information, appealing for “any road users or pedestrians who may have camera footage (including dash-cam footage) and who were in the Bank Place area of the town between 11.30am-1pm (last Saturday) to make this footage available to investigating Gardaí”.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Rathkeale Garda Station on 069 63 222, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
