Fatal truck pile-up triggers traffic chaos

TRAFFIC chaos ensued yesterday on one of the country’s busiest roads when a lorry smashed into three trucks, claiming one life and leaving three drivers in hospital.

Miraculously, said gardaí, there were no cars in the vicinity at the time of the early morning accident.

The dead man, who is believed to be Polish, was driving a truckload of zinc ore, heading south along the main Cork-Dublin road.

The vehicle reportedly veered out of control and struck four other lorries which were travelling in a convoy in the opposite direction. Three other drivers were seriously injured and taken to Cork University Hospital. However, they were said to be in a stable condition.

Superintendent Con Cadogan said gardaí were still “trying to piece together what had happened”.

The accident occurred shortly before 6.50am near the Corbett Court restaurant, two miles north of Fermoy on the N8.

The Polish driver was pronounced dead at the scene by a local doctor. The driver, understood to be in his early 40s, was working for Galway-based Fleming Transport.

He was driving towards the Cork docks to drop off a consignment of zinc ore on behalf of Lisheen Mines, Co Tipperary.

Emergency services were quickly on the scene and gardaí set up diversions. However, traffic chaos continued after diversions.

Motorists found themselves facing severe tailbacks on country roads after another lorry jackknifed and a number of cars were involved in minor accidents.

Gardaí had no choice but to divert traffic along a narrow road network while the clean-up operation, which took several hours, continued at the Corbett Court crash site.

Motorists heading south were diverted off the N8 near Mitchelstown, down through the Kilworth army range before rejoining the main road near the Moorepark Food Research Centre. Gardaí said that a number of minor accidents occurred along this route, which compounded traffic flow problem.

Those heading north were diverted in Fermoy and sent through the villages of Glanworth and Ballindangan before rejoining the Cork-Dublin road at Mitchelstown. Serious delays occurred on another diversion route when a lorry jackknifed between Ballyhooley and Castletownroche.

Throughout the day, Fermoy Garda Station was bombarded with mobile phone calls from motorists. Because delays on northbound and southbound routes became so acute, gardaí advised anyone who could to avoid the Fermoy area altogether and travel via Mallow.

Two cranes were brought in to lift the trucks off the main road, while county council workers and firemen worked to clear remaining debris. The Cork-Dublin road remained closed to traffic throughout most of the day.

Gardaí in Fermoy are appealing for anybody who may witnessed the accident to contact them at 025 82100.