Rebecca Browne: Family heartbroken after woman killed by police car
- Published
Rebecca Browne was from the Galliagh area of Londonderry
The family of a woman who died after being hit by a Garda (Irish police) patrol car in County Donegal have had their hearts broken, a priest has said.
Rebecca Browne, 21, from the Galliagh area of Londonderry, was killed in the early hours of Sunday at Ludden, near Buncrana.
The collision has been referred to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.
"No words any of us can say at this time can comfort the situation," Fr Michael McCaughey said.
The priest, from the Three Patrons' Parish in Galliagh, visited the family home on Sunday.
"It is very daunting to hear a mother say her daughter went out on Saturday afternoon and hasn't come home," he told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster.
'Life and soul of the party'
Rebecca, he added, was described by her mother and other relatives as "the life and soul of the party" who loved "taking photographs and making memories".
Fr McCaughey said Rebecca's family described her as 'the life and soul of the party'.
"Her mum talked about how she has lost two very special people. Her own mother died during the pandemic and now she has lost her own daughter," Fr McCaughey continued.
"She said how her mum and aunts described Rebecca as like a porcelain doll, she loved her style.
"She was a young hairdresser, evidently lovely, the life and soul of the party, is what they would describe her as".
Fr McCaughey said the family circle was "very close".
She had gone to Buncrana with her cousin for a night out, he said.
Many of Rebecca's friends also visited the family home on Sunday.
"It is just very sad to see the pain and the heartbreak and the silence," the priest explained.
The collision has been referred to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.
Friends and colleagues have paid tribute to the young hairdresser with "a wee heart of gold".
"Rebecca started with me when she was 16, when I first opened the salon, she was with me from day one," Karen McGarrigle told BBC News NI.
"She was funny, and she was optimistic and she wanted the best for everybody. She would really try to make people feel good. She had a wee heart of gold.
"We were best friends."
Ashleigh Coyle said she will always remember how "much encouragement she always gave me to do whatever what I wanted to do".
"She never judged anybody for anything they said or did," she continued.
"Rebecca was fun, lived life to the full, repeatedly reminded me that life is so short which nearly makes it more cruel that now she is not here and she is only 21."
'Two communities interlinked'
On Sunday, a garda spokesperson said the collision had been referred to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.
In a statement, the Ombudsman Commission said the matter is "now under examination".
Donegal Sinn Féin councillor Jack Murray told BBC Radio Foyle's The North West Today programme that because of their proximity Derry and Buncrana are "two communities interlinked".
"The entire community offers condolences to Rebecca's family," he said.
"It is a heart-breaking time. This very much feels like it is one of our own".