An English language student is recovering after he was run over by a car during an attempted robbery in north Dublin.
Alfredo Gallegos, 25, moved to Ireland from Mexico with his girlfriend in March last year. On Sunday 23 April, Alfredo and his girlfriend were walking to get a bus to Dublin Airport when a car pulled up beside them.
Alfredo told Dublin Live that they were heading to the airport to go on a holiday to Berlin when they were approached by a two men in a car who tried to rob them on the Shantalla Road in Beaumont. He said: "It happened around 4:30am on Sunday April 23 and we were walking to the bus stop. A red car stopped and then a man left the car. He tried to assault us, he said 'give me your things, give me your things'.
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"I tried to protect my girlfriend at first, and then I resisted the assault. They were between 20 to 25 years of age, they were not teenagers. When we tried to escape the man who was in the car ran over me."
One man stole Alfredo's wallet after he was knocked down, and the group escaped the scene. Alfredo was immediately rushed to Beaumont Hospital, where doctors confirmed that he had a fracture to the fibula bone in his left leg.
"My left leg is broken, I have a fracture in the fibula. I won't be able to work for six to eight weeks.
"I was in hospital for four days then I got out and I am now at home, trying to rest. I can put my leg on the floor it's difficult but fortunately I'm home."
Alfredo is studying English with a student visa and he also works as a tourist guide in Dublin city centre. He is also an accomplished mariachi singer, where he sings songs native to Mexico.
Since his assault, Alfredo's friends have helped set up a GoFundMe page to help him along in his recovery. Alfredo explains: "As a student we are limited to work only 20 hours and now I only rely on my girlfriend's income, so it's a very difficult situation because I won't be able to work at least three months because my work is walking around town."
Alfredo admits that he was "very scared" during the incident, and that he and his girlfriend are still shaken after it.
"My girlfriend was very afraid, we thought that that this doesn't happen in Ireland because we come from a country Mexico that is very, very dangerous. What happened is very normal in Mexico. We hadn't imagined this [would happen] in Ireland.
"My girlfriend said she is very afraid after what happened, she tries to get home as early as possible. She has to work to help me."
But brave Alfredo says that things "could have been worse", and that is now doing okay and on the road to recovery with support from family and friends.
A Garda spokesman told Dublin Live that they are investigating the incident. "Gardaí are investigating an incident which occurred on the Shantalla Road in Santry, Dublin during the early hours of Sunday morning, 23rd April 2023.
"No arrests have been made at this time. Investigations are ongoing."
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