Nine people were taken to hospital yesterday after more than 30 cars were involved in pile-ups on both sides of the main LimerickShannon Airport road - one of the busiest in the State. Four of them - three men and a woman - were still detained last night.
The accidents happened shortly before 7.30 a.m. in conditions made hazardous by fog and patches of black ice. About 15 cars crashed into each other, domino-style, on the outward lane of the road, two miles from Limerick city. A similar number collided on the opposite side of the dual-carriageway at the same time.
Six ambulances and two fire tenders were called. The road was blocked for more than two hours, and gardai directed traffic to the old Cratloe road. However, a truck jackknifed and blocked this road, forcing all traffic to reverse back along it.
As a result of the chaos, some people going to work at Shannon were up to four hours late.
One eyewitness said the first car involved was hit at the rear, pitching the driver through the windscreen. She was among those detained at Limerick Regional Hospital last night, but was stated not to be seriously ill. Meanwhile, four articulated trucks and 10 cars were involved in accidents on the Askeaton bypass in Co Limerick yesterday. Nobody was seriously injured.