Garda Rescues Baby from Overturned Car

TWO young people and a 14-month-old baby are “lucky to be alive”, having had a narrow escape when they were involved in a single vehicle accident at Ballycar on Wednesday at approximately 1.40pm.

Moments after their car left the road and overturned, smoke was seen coming from the car.

Local garda Declan Fawl arrived at the scene to assist the trapped occupants, before the car became

engulfed.

He explained that the driver’s door handle had come off in the crash, so he came to their assistance

to get the three occupants, including their baby, out through the back passenger doors.

Garda Fawl said the car had hit the ditch and flipped onto the other side of the road. The crash was witnessed by another motorist and Garda Fawl just happened to be driving on the same road when the call came in.

“I got them out through the back passenger door. The car was smoking and little flames were coming off it but then about two minutes later, it went up. It was nothing really major; they are just lucky to be alive really. They were worried about the little baby, obviously,” he said.

He explained there was little risk when he arrived as “there was only a bit of smoke. It took a while for the car to go up; it wasn’t a case of rushing into a blaze.”

Although he had a fire extinguisher, Garda Fawl explained that once everyone was out of the car, the fire had taken hold and it was a case of waiting for the fire brigade and just keeping away from the fire.

Two units of the fire brigade from Shannon attended the scene and the family were checked out by ambulance crew, who attended the scene and they all went home afterwards.

Local man Tim Tierney operates the nearby Crabtree pub and came on the scene shortly after it happened.

“All three seemed to be fine. When I arrived, it must have been just after happening,” he said.

He said that the passengers in the vehicle were coming from Sixmilebridge and had been going to an appointment in Ennis.

“They seemed to be quite calm about it. He was talking pictures with his phone. The girl was very quiet. The baby didn’t seem to be distressed but they had a very lucky escape,” he said.