Four people were today being questioned in connection with the death of a manin a hit and run incident in north Belfast.
Rossa Quigley, 25, died after being knocked down by a stolen car on theCliftonville Road close to the flat he shared with his girlfriend.
Mr Quigley, who was originally from the Whiterock Road area of west Belfast,had just been dropped off by friends and was crossing the road when he wasstruck.
A police spokesman confirmed that four people have been detained by officersinvestigating the incident.
The Vauxhall Cavalier, which was stolen on April 1 in the Short Strand area ofeast Belfast, was today being examined by forensics officers.
Eye witnesses said the Cavalier, which was packed with youths, had beenspotted speeding in the area earlier.
Sinn Fein councillor Eoin O'Brion said that so-called joyriding has reachedepidemic proportions in the north of the city.
He said: "This part of north Belfast has been plagued by car thieves anddeath riders for quite some time. Local people, community workers andpoliticians have been saying for some time that the situation is reaching crisispoint."
The death occurred just hours after a 20-year-old man received a stiff jailsentence for causing the death of a 15-year-old girl in west Belfast.
Henry Christopher Marley was sentenced to nine years for causing the death bydangerous driving of Debbie McComb, who was killed on the Springfield Road.He received a further three years for a series of thefts, including stealingthe vehicle that killed the teenage girl.
Mr O'Brion said that tougher sentences were only part of the overallsolution.
"We have to take preventative action within local communities orunfortunately incidents like these may well be repeated," he added.