OAP found in stream loses fight for life in hospital

AN elderly woman found in critical condition in a stream by a country road early yesterday died later in hospital.

The pensioner, in her early 70s, was spotted by a passing motorist at around 6.40am as he crossed over the Ivy Bridge, at Annagannihy, near Rylane in north Cork.

The motorist spotted a hand reaching up on the bank of the stream, reversed his car and found the stricken woman partially submerged.

Chief Superintendent Con Cadogan of Bandon gardai said: “Her head was just above the water and she was in a very distressed and disorientated condition.

“The motorist alerted the emergency services and an ambulance was sent immediately.”

The woman was taken to Cork University Hospital and treated for the effects of severe exposure but she died shortly before midday.

Officers sealed off the road and began a full investigation. A car which was registered to the tragic lady was located in a farmyard two miles from where she was found.

Gardai have now made contact with her family, in the north Cork area, and are trying to establish a timeline of events.

It appears the woman drove to a relatively remote part of the county in the early hours of the morning before leaving her vehicle to travel on foot.