Two hospitalised after crashes in hailstone storm

Two women are recovering in hospital after they lost control of their vehicles following a heavy downpour of hailstone on the M18 motorway in Co Clare yesterday. Emergency services responded to four incidents on the same stretch of the southbound carriageway 2km north of Crusheen.

In the first collision, reported at around 9.30am, a van spun of out control, ploughed into an embankment before overturning and leaving the lone occupant trapped.

Moments later, a car smashed into a barrier just a few hundreds metres away. The driver escaped relatively unscathed after her car struck a section of barrier designed to buckle and absorb the energy from a collision. Seconds later, another car spun out of control and left the motorway metres away. Another lost control on the other side of the motorway but the occupants were not hurt.

Gardaí, fire services, and ambulance crews responded to the scene from Ennis but had to drive past the collisions and another 16km to Gort in Co Galway to gain access to the southbound lanes before driving another 16km south to reach the scenes.

On arrival at the scene of the first crash, paramedics confirmed to fire personnel that there were no casualties trapped or seriously injured. One woman was taken to University Hospital Limerick for treatment. The driver of the second vehicle escaped injury but was treated for shock.

Fire and rescue vehicles then rushed to the more serious incident involving the van a short distance further south. The driver sustained suspected multiple broke ribs and other injuries and was also taken to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.

As temperatures hovered just about freezing and with the road still in a dangerous condition, it was decided the 16km-long northbound section of motorway should be closed in an effort to prevent further crashes.

The closure also allowed an ambulance access to the scene without having to undertake a 32km round-trip.

Fire crews in Gort said they were angry that they were not first sent to the incident. By the time Gort fire brigade was alerted, colleagues from Ennis had already arrived and so they were stood down before they even left their station.

On December 19 last year, a motorist was pulled from his burning car after it collided with a taxi after a heavy hailstone storm. The collision happened on the same stretch of the M18.