Appeal for drivers to ‘slow down’ after Glen Road hit-and-run

A STRABANE woman has appealed for drivers to ‘slow down’ following a hit-and-run incident on St Patrick’s Day which left her car severely damaged.

Hannah Gallagher of the Glen Road spoke out after being left without the use of her vehicle following the collision.

Ms Gallagher has appealed for people to exercise caution on the road lest something like this reoccurs.

“Despite the road having speed bumps, people are always speeding up and down the road which is a residential road,” she said. “It would be appreciated if people took a bit more care so that an accident like this, or worse, doesn’t happen in the future.”

She added, “I was out with my family for a lovely St Patrick’s Day, leaving my own car at home. We got home around half seven and, to be honest, didn’t notice any damage then. It was only later, after half eight as my dad was putting the bins out, that he looked at my car and noticed something hanging off of it.

“After further inspecting it, we saw that the bumper on the driver’s side had been really badly damaged. It was obvious it had been hit.

“No note, no indication of who was responsible; they hit my car and drove off. We got a hold of a mechanic who came to assess the damage, he tells me the rear axle may be broken, which will take a week to get fixed. Not only was he able to look at mine but, just by examining debris left on the road by the other car, he was able to say it was a black BMW.”

Although from Strabane, Ms Gallagher works in Belfast in the field of museum education.

“I need my car for work as I’m often on the road, going to schools all over the North as part of my job and this hampers how I’m able to do my job,” she said. “It’s my first wee car as well; the whole thing is deeply frustrating, putting a real downer on what was an otherwise lovely weekend at home.”

A PSNI spokesperson said of the incident, “Police received a report that damage had been caused to a car that was parked outside a property on the Glen Road in Strabane sometime between 7.30pm and 8.30pm on Sunday 17th March. Anyone with CCTV or other footage that could assist with enquiries should contact police on 101 quoting reference 1935 of 17/03/24.”