Woman flung nine feet into the air in hit and run incident at Luas Stop

A WOMAN struck in a hit and run accident was flung nine feet into the air as her shocked partner looked on helplessly, an inquest heard.
Caroline Watkins (40) from Lally Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10 was fatally struck by a car while crossing the road at the Goldenbridge Luas Stop on Davitt Road in Drimnagh on May 30 last year.
Dublin Coroner’s Court heard the car was travelling over the speed limit, no emergency brakes were applied and it continued on without slowing down following the impact.
Gardaí found the vehicle involved but were unable to establish who was driving when the incident happened.
Ms Watkins and her partner Ray Harcourt were on their way home from a pub in Inchicore at around 10.30pm and decided to walk to the Davitt Road to get a taxi.
When they reached the Goldenbridge Luas stop, they got to the edge of a pedestrian crossing and waited. Mr Harcourt said that he was checking if it was safe to cross when Ms Watkins stepped out onto the road.
“The next thing I knew I just heard a dead sound. It wasn’t even like a bang. Before I could even turn or say anything, I saw Caroline flying through the air at a height of eight or nine foot at a guess. She was spinning horizontally… She never made a sound,” he said.
Ms Watkins landed about 30 feet away.

For more on this see page 12 of this week’s Echo.