Gardai appeal for witnesses after collision in Celbridge

RENEWED appeals have been made by Gardai investigating an alleged hit-and-run incident which resulted in a young man, named locally as Ross Rice, being killed in the collision.

Ross Rice was laid to rest in Palmerstown following a funeral Mass in the Church of Most Holy Sacrament on Monday, July 31.

Originally from Cherry Orchard, Rice, who was in his 20s, was a father to young Andy, partner to Sophie, and is survived by his siblings Eve and Glen.

Rice was the victim of a fatal road traffic collision involving a truck and a car at around 10.50pm on the R403 in Celbridge, Co Kildare, on July 18.

A passenger in the car, Rice was fatally injured during the course of the collision, with the driver of the car failing to remain at the scene, and the male driver of the truck uninjured in the crash.

Following the tragedy, Cllr Daithí Doolan (SF) expressed deep sympathy to the family of Ross Rice.

“This is terrible news. I want to express deepest sympathy to Ross’s family especially his young son, and his wide circle of friends,” Cllr Doolan said.

“It is always so sad when someone so young dies so tragically. But I am sure the Cherry Orchard community will rally around them and support them all at this difficult time.”

Last Tuesday, July 26, a man in his late teens was arrested as part of the investigation and detained at a Garda station “in the Eastern region”.

This individual was released without charge, with a file being prepared for the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Since then, Gardaí in Leixlip have made an appeal for a taxi driver to come forward, who they believe was travelling on the R403 between Celbridge and Lucan at around 11pm on July 18, 2023.

“It is believed this taxi driver collected a fare from the Lucan Road/New Adamstown Link Road area of the R403 and brought this fare to the Liffey Valley/Palmerstown area of Dublin,” a spokesperson from an Garda Síochána said.

Gardaí also renewed their appeal for individuals who may have witnessed the collision to come forward.

“Any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and were travelling on the R403 in Celbridge between 10.30pm and 11.15pm on Tuesday 18th July 2023 are asked to make this footage available to Gardaí,” the Garda spokesperson continued.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Leixlip Garda station on 01 666 7800, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.

For full access to all content on Echo.ie and to support the continuation of local news and local journalism in your community subscribe HERE.