Traffic in Westport came to a standstill during rush hour on Wednesday morning as gardaí sealed off the main thoroughfare of the town—Bridge Street, as they dealt with a collision which occurred that morning when a car, which was struck by a stolen jeep, smashed into the shopfront of McGreevy’s which is located at the junction of the Mall and Bridge Street.
At around 7am a jeep, which had been stolen a short time prior to the incident from nearby Sheeaune, Westport, crashed into a car being driven by a local man which hurled the car into the shop. Fortunately, the local man was not seriously injured in the accident. The driver of the jeep absconded from the scene by jumping into a car which was travelling in convoy with the jeep. This car, a 07 Volkswagen Passat, had been stolen earlier that night around 5am from the Foxford Road in Ballina.
Gardaí launched a search for the car after the incident. Later that day the driver of the Passat was arrested by gardaí in the Ballina area. He was charged in relation to the theft of the car, the theft of petrol from Topaz, Ballina, and for road traffic matters. The man will appear before Ballina District Court on September 10. The car, which was stolen, has been recovered.
