A man has died in a road traffic collision in Clare.
The incident occurred at around 2.10pm on the N18 dual-carriageway southbound between Shannon and Bunratty.
The Landrover vehicle, which was hauling a trailer with cattle at the time, overturned in the overtaking lane. The vehicle rolled onto its roof before the roof collapsed, trapping the driver and sole occupant inside.
Multiple National Ambulance Service (NAS) resources were dispatched to the incident including ambulances, a rapid response advanced paramedic unit and senior NAS personnel.
Three units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Shannon station along with additional units from Ennis and several Garda vehicles were also mobilised to the scene.
On arrival, emergency services personnel found one person was still trapped in the vehicle and efforts quickly began to free him. Fire service personnel used cutting equipment to allow paramedics access to the patient.
Fire crews also used airbags to safely lift the vehicle however, despite the best efforts of ambulance and fire service personnel, the man died at the scene.
It’s understood the victim is a man in his late 40s from County Limerick.
The road will remain closed until Garda Forensic Collision Investigators complete their examination of the scene. Gardaí have closed the section of road from the Junction 6 Sixmilebridge and Junction 7 Bunratty.
Traffic remains backed up for several kilometres with Gardaí directing traffic off the M18 motorway, which links with the N18 dual-carriageway, at junctions as far back as Shannon.
Gardaí from Shannon are investigating the circumstances of the accident.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.