A young boy died after being struck by a car in Mullingar, Co Westmeath.
The incident occurred shortly after 6.30pm on Monday in Farranshock Estate, Mullingar.
He was treated at the scene before being taken by ambulance to Mullingar Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
The Irish Independent understands the young boy only celebrated his fourth birthday over the weekend.
On Tuesday morning, garda forensic collision investigators towed away the car believed to have been involved in the road accident. .
That move is just part of an extensive garda investigation which is now underway in a bid to establish both the cause and circumstances surrounding yesterday evening’s tragedy.
As those inquiries continue, locals have been expressing their shock and disbelief at the news.
Westmeath County Council Leas Cathaoirleach Cllr Mick Dollard said neighbours and those living locally had been left “traumatised” by the events of yesterday evening.
“I can tell you from emails I have received already this morning people are traumatised by it quite frankly,” he said.
“When something like this happens, people immediately think about their children and their grandchildren.”
Those sentiments were endorsed by Fine Gael Cllr Andrew Duncan who said locals living on the estate were still attempting to come to terms with the news.
“It’s just a very unfortunate and tragic situation for everybody involved,” he told the Irish Independent.
In a separate incident, a motorcyclist, aged in his 20s, died in Co Limerick after a collision between a motorcycle and a car.
The incident took place in Ardagh village at the intersection of the R521 and R523. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was removed to University Hospital Limerick where a postmortem will take place.
The male driver of the car was brought to University Hospital Kerry for treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.
Today's News in 90 Seconds - April 22nd
The intersection where the incident occurred remained closed overnight ahead of a technical examination to be carried out by gardaí on Tuesday morning.
While in Dublin, the mother of an 18-year-old who was killed in a motorbike crash in Dublin on Sunday evening says her “heart is shattered into a million bits”.
Jason Monks died when the scrambler motorbike he was riding collided with a car on Citywest Avenue in west Dublin. It happened at around 8pm, not far from his home.
Family members have been paying tribute to the young father-of-one, and a GoFundMe page has been set...
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