Margaret O’Connor (54) had been delivering eggs to friend when ‘freak accident’ occurred, it is believed
Gardaí outside a house in Mill Park where the woman’s body was discovered on Tuesday morning. Photo: Jim Campbell
Emergency services at the scene in Mill Park, Castlebridge, Wexford, on Tuesday morning. Photo: Jim Campbell
A woman whose body was found trapped under a car in a driveway is believed to have been making a social visit to a friend at the time.
The victim, named yesterday as Margaret O’Connor (54), was discovered under her car between two driveways in a housing estate in Castlebridge, Co Wexford.
The alarm was raised shortly after 11.30am on Tuesday when neighbours in the Mill Park estate noticed the car parked unusually at a slant.
A garda source said: “It seems to have just been a freak accident – the type of thing that you couldn’t do again if you tried. It’s very sad.”
Ms O’Connor, who comes from nearby Ballyhogue, was declared dead at the scene and it is understood she may have lay undiscovered for a couple of hours as locals went about their business unawares.
The housing estate was quickly sealed off and gardaí erected screens around the driveway as shocked locals looked on.
They quickly confirmed that the body of a female had been recovered and they were treating the matter as “a tragic accident”.
Ms O’Connor’s body remained at the scene for several hours while a full technical examination was carried out. Her remains were subsequently taken to University Hospital Waterford where a full post-mortem examination was due to take place.
The incident sparked widespread shock in the community of Castlebridge.
The keys were found in the ignition of the car and gardaí are operating on the assumption that the car rolled between two driveways and somehow tragically pinned or trapped the woman beneath.
Ms O’Connor was a former resident of the Mill Park estate and gardaí believe that she was making a social call, dropping eggs to a friend, when tragedy struck.
“It really is a strange one,” a garda source said. “It’s hard to know just how the car came to roll between the two driveways.”
A full investigation into the matter is ongoing and gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the incident between 11.30am and noon on Tuesday to contact them.”
