Man killed in crash on outskirts of Cork city

A man has been killed after his car left the road, smashed through a fence and crashed into a field near Glanmire in Cork.

The alarm was raised around 7am when a passerby spotted a car in a field near junction 18 on the M8.

It’s believed the car had been travelling southbound on the R639, which runs parallel to the M8 at this location, when it crashed through a fence at the beginning of a sweeping right bend and careered through waste ground before coming to a rest in a field.

The driver, believed to be his late 40s, and who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, suffered fatal injuries.

Emergency services including two HSE ambulances and paramedics, a critical care doctor, two units of the County Fire service from Midleton and three from Cork city, as well as gardai, rushed to the scene.

But the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The northern off-ramp at junction 18 has been closed for a full technical examination by garda forensic collision investigation.

Gardaí in Mayfield are appealing for witnesses.

Cork Traffic - Diversions remain in place on the Old Dublin Rd (R639) between the M8 exit at J18 Glanmire & Kearney’s Cross in Sallybrook following a fatal collision. M8 northbound on-ramp & off-ramp are also closed at J18. Gardaí expect to lift the diversions shortly.

— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) December 30, 2018