CRUSHED TO DEATH BY HIS OWN CAR; Retired garda killed in freak accident.Byline: RORY TEVLIN; ANNE LUCEY A RETIRED garda died in a freak accident when his car rolled back on top of him after it ran out of diesel. Popular Jim Fitzgerald James F. Fitzgerald (born March 1926 in Janesville, Wisconsin) is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is best known as a former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors, both NBA teams. Fitzgerald attended Notre Dame ('47). , 53, was giving a neighbour a lift in the early hours of yesterday when his silver Mercedes Benz cut out close to the village of Sneem, Co Kerry. Gardai said Mr Fitzgerald was attempting to move the car to the side of the road when it suddenly rolled back and trapped him under a door at around 3am. A Garda source said: "The two men were pushing it round the bend and rather than stay on course it fell into the dyke." His horrified hor·ri·fy tr.v. hor·ri·fied, hor·ri·fy·ing, hor·ri·fies 1. To cause to feel horror. See Synonyms at dismay. 2. To cause unpleasant surprise to; shock. passenger ran to a nearby house to raise the alarm while another local man arrived at the scene. Emergency services emergency services Emergency care '…services …necessary to prevent death or serious impairment of health and, because of the danger to life or health, require the use of the most accessible hospital available and equipped to furnish those services' were called but Mr Fitzgerald died at the roadside. Local councillor Patrick Connor-Scarteen said Mr Fitzgerald was well known and respected in the community and that he will be sorely missed. He added: "This is a fierce shock to the community. He was just doing his neighbourly neighbourly or US neighborly Adjective kind, friendly, and helpful Adj. 1. neighbourly - exhibiting the qualities expected in a friendly neighbor neighborly duties dropping a neighbour home from the pub. It is just such a tragic, freak accident." Councillor for the Killorglin area Michael Healy-Rae said he was shocked by the tragic death of Mr Fitzgerald who he described as a "very generous" man. He said: "We are all shocked and devastated at this tragic accident. He was highly regarded in the community and was a very respected and kind man who was driving a neighbour home at the time of the accident." Mr Fitzgerald was single and was forced to retire from the force in his 40s on health grounds. He served in Cork city before returning to his native Sneem and was well known in the area as a keen collector of Morris Minors. He was also a relative of the founder of MI5, William Melville, who was the inspiration for the M character in the James Bond series of books by Ian Fleming, who it was discovered, originated in Sneem. Mr Fitzgerald has a number of relatives in the Sneem area. His body was taken to Kerry General Hospital where a postmortem postmortem /post·mor·tem/ (post-mort´im) performed or occurring after death. post·mor·tem adj. Relating to or occurring during the period after death. n. See autopsy. was carried out. CAPTION(S): SCENE Accident site outside Sneem, Co Kerry, yesterday CAR LOVER Jim Fitzgerald, above, collected Morris Minors |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion