A man in his 20s is being questioned by gardai about the hit and run on Wednesday night that killed 68-year-old John White.
A man in his 20s has been arrested for questioning about a hit and run in Co Galway that claimed the life of a 68-year-old cyclist.
The suspect is being held at Loughrea Garda station, where the investigation into the killing of the pensioner is based.
The arrested man is being detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. That allows for his detention for up to 24 hours without charge.
The dead man has been named as 67-year-old John White of St Laurences Field, Loughrea. He was struck by a BMW car at around 8.30pm on Wednesday on the Gort Rd in Loughrea.
The vehicle involved in the collision then left the scene and was driven off in the direction of Gort.
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Mr White was treated by paramedics at the scene after a local person raised the alarm. He was then taken by ambulance to University College Hospital, Galway. However, he died from his injuries there at around 2am yesterday.
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Gardai had appealed for anyone with information to come forward and aid the inquiry.
They released a description of the vehicle they were looking for; a blue BMW with a partial 01 G registration. No further description was available.
The man now being held was arrested this morning and is being treated as a suspect in the case.
Mr White’s death brought to four the number of cyclists killed on the roads so far this year; almost as high as in all of last year despite the fact just four months have passed in 2014.
There were five cyclists killed in the Republic in all of last year, a joint 20-year low shared with 2010.
The most recent death before last night’s occurred on February 3rd, when a woman who was struck by a car the previous week in Tralee died in hospital from her injuries.
The victim, in her 40s, was struck by a car as she was cycling from her own home in Tralee to visit a relative in the town.
On January 27th, a cyclist died when he was knocked from his bike in evening rush hour traffic in Dublin. That collision occurred at City West Road, Brownsbarn Roundabout, Saggart, just before 5.30pm.
While the deceased was treated at the scene by paramedics and was taken by ambulance to Tallaght Hospital, he died a short time later at the hospital.
Another cyclist in his 40s was struck by a car at the Kilmurray roundabout in Castletroy on the outskirts of Limerick City on Wednesday, January 8th, and later died from his injuries.
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