Four in hospital after two-car collision outside Ennis

Four people were hospitalised yesterday following a two-car collision which involved a group of American tourists who had arrived in Ireland a short time earlier.

The incident happened at around 1.15pm on the N85 Ennis Bypass at Ashline. The road links the M18 Limerick-Galway motorway with several routes to north and west Clare.

A group of six American visitors were travelling in a Ford Galaxy people carrier which was in a collision with a BMW car travelling in the opposite direction.

The visitors had arrived at Shannon from London. They were on their way to visit the Cliffs of Moher in north Clare at the time of the crash.

Two ambulances and three units of the fire brigade from Ennis attended the incident. Gardaí quickly closed a section of the N85 and diverted traffic from the area while emergency crews dealt with the incident.

Fire crews had to cut a door off the Ford Galaxy to safely extricate one of the injured tourists. The others were able to exit the car unaided.

The two occupants of the BMW car climbed out the driver’s window before emergency services arrived.

Passing motorists stopped to offer assistance and raise the alarm. A female passenger clambered across the driver’s seat to escape the vehicle but immediately collapsed on the road with her injuries. She is believed to have suffered multiple bone fractures. It is not believed any of the casualties sustained life-threatening injuries. The road was reopened at around 3.30pm while gardaí from Ennis continue investigations.