A collision that closed a section of the N18 in Co Clare to almost two hours this morning has been cleared.
A van carrying pharmaceuticals is understood to have lost control; spun around and crashed into a ditch on the N18 Limerick to Shannon road at around 7.00am.
The collision happened close to the village of Cratloe on a sweeping bend on the dual-carriageway. There had been a hail shower in the area around the same time however it’s now known whether this was a factor in the incident.
Units of the fire service from Limerick City and Shannon Town responded to the incident along with an ambulance and Gardaí.
The northbound section of the road was closed from junction 5 to allow emergency services deal with the incident.
The driver was assessed at the scene by ambulance paramedics but was found not to have been seriously injured.
Incident: M18 closed Northbound between Jn 5 and Jn 6 , diversions in place (North) https://t.co/kt5EM56O4h
— TII Traffic (@TIITraffic) March 12, 2019
A second van had to be brought in to the remove the pharmaceuticals from the crashed vehicle before efforts to clear the scene could begin.
The crashed van was finally removed from shortly before 9.00am while fire crews used their vehicles to form a rolling roadblock and get traffic moving again.
The incident happened at the height of the morning rush hour with thousands of people travelling to work in Shannon and Ennis or to Shannon Airport for flights.
