Man escapes injury after van overturns on Clare motorway

A motorist has escaped injury after his van overturned on the M18 motorway this morning.

The single-vehicle collision occurred at around 11.45am in the northbound lanes of the motorway just before the slip-road at junction 12.

A white Volkswagen van, believed to have been travelling from Kerry to Fermanagh, is understood to have lost control before colliding with an embankment and overturning. The van came to a stop on its wheels in the hard-shoulder. The van was carrying a load of timber at the time and shed its load.

Gardaí responded to the emergency call and on arrival found that the driver and sole occupant of the van appeared to be unharmed.

Clare County Fire and Rescue Service and the National Ambulance Service were also alerted. Units of the fire service from Ennis and Shannon stations were mobilised to the scene along with an ambulance.

The driver was assessed at the scene by paramedics but was found to be uninjured. The man was later assisted by Gardaí who transported him and his belongings from the scene so he could make arrangements to continue his journey.

Fire service personnel implemented emergency traffic management procedures and managed to keep one lane open to traffic. Vehicles were however left backed up to junction 11 for a time but the scene has since been cleared and traffic is moving normally again.