A teenage girl who died after sustaining “catastrophic” injuries in an incident involving a scrambler bike has been named locally as Grace Lynch.
The 16-year-old died in hospital on Sunday evening.
Gardaí and emergency services attended the scene of a “serious road traffic collision” involving a motorcycle that was in collision with the girl in the Scribblestown area of Finglas.
The incident happened at about 2.20pm as the girl walked on a pedestrian crossing on the Ratoath Road.
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An Garda Síochána said a female pedestrian in her teens was brought to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown to be treated for injuries “believed to be serious”.
“An adult male, aged in his late teens, and a male juvenile, aged in his teens [who were] on the scrambler are being treated for injuries believed to be non life-threatening.”
A teenage male has been arrested and is being held in a Dublin Garda station.
In a statement, the principal of St Michael’s Holy Faith secondary school, Marie Doyle, said Ms Lynch’s death is a “terrible tragedy” for her family, her school, and the local community.
Ms Doyle described the 16-year-old as a “lovely, bright, kind girl”, saying the school is “deeply saddened” by her death.
“She will be greatly missed by all who knew her,” she said.
The school has implemented its critical incident management plan, she said, adding that psychologists from the National Educational Psychological Service have been “with us all day” providing support.
“Our teachers have been helping students to deal with this very sad event,” she said.
At teatime on Sunday, the road remained cordoned off as Garda technical experts examined the scene, taking photographs of the badly damaged green motorcycle, which lay in multiple pieces.
Locals gathered in small numbers, some of them crying.
Geoff Keating, a local youth worker, said local residents were “in shock”.
“It is horrific that a child crossing the road on a Sunday afternoon should sustain catastrophic injuries. A lot of people in the estate thought it was their daughter, so there was panic.”
He said there had been a number of serious incidents on the stretch of road, a main road through the Westwood estate, in the past 18 months.
“I have been calling for years to have this road regulated. It is absolutely shocking. I have been asking the council to put in speed bumps. There are speed bumps inside the estate but that is the main thoroughfare and there are none.”
Another man, who did not want to be named, said: “I am a walker and cyclist. All these scrambler and e-bikes that are going flying around and there’s nothing being done about it ... Everyone knew something like this would eventually happen.”
An Garda Síochána appealed to anyone who witnessed the collision, including those with camera footage from the area between 2.10pm and 2.40pm, to contact Finglas Garda station on (01) 666 7500, the Garda confidential line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
