‘Help me Lord’: Mother’s pain after learning of son’s death in hit-and-run outside Limerick

TRIBUTES have been paid to a teenage boy who lost his life in a hit-and-run collision on the outskirts of Limerick.

The boy has been named locally as Bryan Lowe, a sixth-class pupil at St Munchin’s College in Limerick.

Gardaí are seeking witnesses following the fatal road traffic collision that occurred in Cloonlara, on the Clare-Limerick border, on Friday.

Shortly after 11pm, emergency services alerted gardaí after an e-bike rider, a male in his mid-teens, was found unresponsive by the roadside on the L3050 at Cottage Cross near Cloonlara. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.

A second vehicle involved in the incident failed to remain at the scene.

“My 16 old son Bryan Lowe is dead. I’m heartbroken & traumatised,” the teenager’s mother Crystal Lowe posted on Facebook this Saturday.

“It’s a crime scene now so funeral arrangements to follow. My son i cant. Help me Lord,” she added.

Later this Saturday afternoon the distraught mother posted how she was “escorting my one and only son Bryan Lowe to the morgue” followed by the words: “Heart broken”.

Messages of love and support poured in for the bereft mother.

“So sorry for your loss Bryan was was the Rock among his group of friends May he get the best bed in heaven RIP Bryan,” posted one mother.

His school described the 16-year-old as an “absolute gentleman” who “would do anything asked of him without complaint”.

“First and foremost our thoughts and prayers go out to Bryan's Mom Crystal, sister's Chloe and Jane and all his friends here in SMC,” reads a tribute on St Munchin’s College Instagram page by the deputy principal Lorraine Shiels.

“It is heartbreaking to lose one of our boys at any time but particularly while they are still a student in our school. Bryan should be looking ahead to his Leaving Certificate, to his future and to all the possibilities that lay before him. Instead, we are coming together to mourn one of our students whose life has been taken far too soon.

“Bryan was an absolute gentleman to meet on the corridor. He would do anything asked of him without complaint. There was a lovely kindness to him and a big heart. He will be sorely missed by everyone in our community.”

The school will be open on Sunday from 12 for any student who would like to go in for a cup of tea.

“Ar dheis Dè go raibh a anam,” the posted ended with a love heart emoji.

The scene of the collision was preserved for examination by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators. The coroner has been notified and a post-mortem examination is being arranged.

Gardaí are appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward. Road users who were in the Cloonlara area at the time and may have camera footage (including dash-cam) are asked to make it available to investigating gardaí.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Henry Garda Station on (061) 212400, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.

Investigations are ongoing.