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FOUR PEOPLE HAVE been hospitalised, three with serious injuries, following separate crashes in Co Clare.
Emergency services from three counties responded to incidents involving a total of five vehicles on the M18 at Dromoland at around 10.30pm last night.
The crashes, which occurred following a heavy downpour of hailstone, resulted in both sides of the motorway being closed.
Gardaí responded to the scene followed by a number of National Ambulance Service resources from Limerick and Clare as well as units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis and Shannon stations.
Additional support was requested from Galway Fire and Rescue Service who dispatched two units from Gort station.
Ambulance paramedics assessed a number of people at the scene before two people, a woman and a man, were taken to University Hospital Limerick for further treatment.
The collisions happened at the same time and location and across all four lanes of the motorway about 500m south of the Dromoland interchange.
Three vehicles lost control and crashed in the southbound lanes of the M18 while on the other side of the motorway, two more cars crashed.
It’s understood that a man who had gotten out of one of the cars was then struck by another car travelling in the same direction.
The man is believed to have suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
The southbound lanes of the motorway were reopened about an hour after the collisions occurred.
The northbound lanes remained closed however for a further hour while emergency services and Traffic Infrastructure Ireland (TII) motorway crews cleared debris from the road and the vehicles were safely recovered.
Arrangements were also made to have the motorway gritted as temperatures dropped and further wintry showers were expected.
Meanwhile, soon after the motorway incident had been cleared, emergency services were mobilised to a serious road traffic collision outskirts of Ennis.
Multiple Garda units responded to the scene along with two ambulances and a rapid response advanced paramedic unit.
Fire crews from Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis and Shannon stations also responded to the scene.
Two men were seriously injured in the two-car head-on collision which happened shortly before 1.00am on the main N68 Ennis to Kilrush road at Kilmorane. One of the vehicles was a taxi however the driver wasn’t carrying a fare at the time.
It’s understood the driver of the second car was also travelling alone. Fire crews had to use specialist cutting equipment to help release one of the drivers from the wreckage of his vehicle. Both men were taken by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.
Gardaí at Ennis are appealing to anyone who witnessed either incident to contact them. Gardaí are also asking anyone with dashcam footage to make it available. Ennis Garda Station can be contacted on 065 6848100.
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People need to keep more distance from each other . Not just in this case but in general. As a truck driver, I see it every day following far too close to each other. Hope all are OK.
Busy night for the emergency services, well done. I hope all the injured make a swift and uncomplicated recovery.
There is sections of that dual carriage way with next to no visibility in normal weather not to mind torrential rain. An upgrade of cats eyes needed asap.
Maybe its time for a few public service announcements like expect the unexpected. Too many metal boxes travelling without due care and attention. You make your own luck and running across a carriage way isn’t one of them. I wish everyone a speedy recovery and well done to the emergency services.
@ciaran enright: yeah a status magenta “mind yourself” warning would have saved that guy from being hit while trying to get to safety after being in an accident. Nothing to do with the absolutely freak weather occurrence that came out of nowhere.
Same thing nearly happened me coming from Shannon airport last week….torrential rain out of the blue and couldn’t see a thing
That particular area of motorway is awful for accidents. I think it’s something to do with heavy rainfall not being able to drain from the motorway quick enough causing aqua plaining
@Paddy Ryan: 100% correct. That part of the road is a black spot and yes you do get freak weather locally coming in off the estuary. I sincerely hope all recover well. I also remember that’s about where the motorway was moved when it was being built to leave the fairy tree standing. All manner of stuff was predicted back then and some thought it was all hocus pocus. Others took a different view. Perhaps the alignment changes left what others in the comments mentioned are areas that don’t drain well? If that’s the case then they need to sort it tbh. Regardless we all need to slow down in bad weather.
@Kenneth Finn: it’s nowhere near that tree you clown.
Drive to the conditions, and if the conditions change, make changes to your driving.
Vehicular autonomy for Ireland would be amazing.
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