A woman has presented herself to gardai in order to give a statement about a hit-and-run incident in October that left a 13-year-old boy with a tennis ball-sized swelling on his head.
In early November the family of Jack Duggan issued a public appeal for assistance as gardai continued to investigate the incident which occurred on the Blarney Road on the northside of Cork city on October 3 last.
A woman subsequently contacted a garda station on the northside of Cork city. Garda have also taken statements from members of the public who witnessed the accident. A file will be prepared for the DPP.
Donna Duggan, who is an older sister of the victim in the case, contacted the Neil Prendeville Show on Cork's Red FM earlier this month. She said that her brother had been struck and subsequently flipped off a footpath and straight up into the air. He landed on his head.
Donna indicated that at one point his face was so damaged that it resembled a Halloween mask. Jack had to undergo emergency surgery in Cork University Hospital (CUH). He was left shaken but has made a good recovery.
Donna explained how the horrifying incident unfolded.
"On Monday, October 3, between 6pm and 6.05pm my brother was walking with my partner's nephew near St Vincent's GAA Clubhouse up past Blarney Road in Cork.
"He was walking across the road - believe it or not his right leg was on the pavement (when) a woman driving a silver car, we are not sure of the make, clipped his other leg with her car. He went up into the air and hit down onto the ground."
"She briefly stopped for a second or two, took her seat belt off, but then continued to drive on up towards the road. She did not get out of the car."
She said that Jack was out walking with his best friend who saw the accident unfold.
"Jack's head was the first thing to strike the road. There was a young girl who also witnessed the whole thing. She ran straight down home and got her father and I want to thank them because he came immediately to the scene to make sure my brother was OK.
"He (Jack) had marks and abrasions to his knees, fingers and a massive haematoma (blood suffusion) on his forehead."
Donna says that the size of the swelling from the haematoma on Jack's forehead left his entire face distended.
"It didn't seem that serious at first. Jack gets embarrassed and he jumped up straight away. He was saying: 'I am fine, I am fine.' But he wasn't. Jack was discharged from the emergency department but had to be brought back.
"The swelling didn't really start until the following day, and he began to vomit when he woke up. We rushed him back to A&E and it was the following week, actually, when it began to swell badly."
"By the day he changed - by his left eye. It was like something you would make up for Halloween. It was unbelievable. Jack had to go for emergency surgery on October 20 - he was rushed back into A&E at CUH as the haematoma started to leak and it had become very infected."
"All the doctors and nurses - and they have been in the medical profession for years - none of them had ever seen a haematoma like this in their lives.
"You have no idea of the stress and worry - there wasn't a wink of sleep had in our house."
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