THE GARDA Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) has begun an investigation following an incident in which a stolen car overturned in Co Kerry early yesterday morning.
Two men were injured, one seriously, in the crash which happened near Kilduff on the road between Castleisland and Tralee. The two were taken to Kerry General Hospital where they were both described as being in a stable condition.
The driver of the car was not badly hurt in the crash and was expected to be released from hospital soon. Senior inspectors from the GSOC were at the scene of the crash in the Stack's mountains near Tralee to carry out an investigation into the incident.
The stolen car, which is believed to have been travelling at high speed, had encountered Garda cars on patrol in the area.
One of the Garda cars was about to give pursuit when the driver of the stolen vehicle lost control and it overturned, The Irish Timesunderstands.
A spokesman for the ombudsman said the Garda Commissioner had referred the matter to the ombudsman at about 8.30am yesterday in accordance with Section 102 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. This is the procedure where the commissioner notifies the ombudsman in cases where serious harm or death is thought to have occurred during a Garda operation.
The early indications were that the stolen car was evading the gardaí, but it was uncertain if any pursuit by the gardaí was actually taking place at the time, the spokesman said.
Gardaí said the car was stolen at 6.30am yesterday in Castleisland.
The Kilduff to Ballybeggan road remained closed until late yesterday due to the investigation.
Meanwhile, gardaí in Kerry are also continuing to investigate a robbery in which several men clad in balaclavas broke into a phone centre in Castleisland at about 7am yesterday.
The robbers used a bollard to smash the glass of the shop and made off with 100 mobile phones.
However, Pat O'Connor, the owner of the Kerry Phone Centre, described yesterday's robbery as "futile" as the shop had the serial numbers of the phones.
This means that the phones would be rendered useless to the thieves or to anyone who bought them.
Close circuit television footage from the shop is being examined by gardaí and witnesses have also provided details of the getaway vehicle.