Motorists in Clare are being warned to prepare for icy stretches this morning, as a Status Yellow Snow and Ice alert remains in place.
There has been scattered showers of hail, sleet and snow overnight, which has left hazardous conditions in some areas.
Emergency services were dispatched to multiple road traffic collisions shortly after the warning came into effect yesterday evening, after which three people were hospitalised as a precaution.
Collisions were first reported at around 5.45pm on the M18 between Crusheen, Co Clare and Gort in Galway. The crashes, all single-vehicle incidents, occurred following heavy downpours of hail in the area.
Units of the fire service from Ennis and Gort responded to the incidents along with Gardaí and National Ambulance Service paramedics.
One collision was reported in the northbound lanes of the M18 at Tubber however, on arrival at the scene, emergency services discovered another incident had occurred in the same area in the southbound carriageway. A third incident also occurred nearby in the northbound lanes further along the route. No one was injured in any of these collisions.
A short distance away, on the R458 road which runs parallel to the motorway, the first of two accidents happened at around 6.00pm. A car left the road and crashed into the ditch at Ballyline, between the villages of Barefield and Crusheen, after the driver apparently lost control following a hail shower. The driver was uninjured.
Soon afterwards, another collision was reported just a few hundred metres away on the same stretch of road however in this case, three persons were reported to be trapped in the vehicle.
Three elderly people, understood to have travelling home from a funeral, were left shaken but not seriously hurt after the car in which they were travelling in collided with a ditch.
As fire crews from Ennis were dealing with collisions on the motorway units of the service from Shannon station were dispatched to the incident. They were joined later by the crews from Ennis.
All three occupants were assessed at the scene by ambulance paramedics but were found not to have been seriously hurt. The man and two women were transported to University Hospital Limerick for assessment as a precaution.
A status yellow weather alert remains in place in Clare and across the country until 11 o’clock and motorists are being urged to continue to drive with care, as wintry showers may lead to icy conditions this morning.
