ONE person died after their car exploded into a ball of flames when it collided with a truck, that also caught fire, in what was described as a “Christmas nightmare”.
The fatal road crash occurred between Banogue and O’Rourke’s Cross, near Bruree, at 2am this Christmas Eve, and Gardaí closed the N20 for a technical examination of the scene and the two vehicles involved.
Firefighters attached to Limerick City and County Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene and put out the flames leading to the grim discovery of the body in the car.
Gardaí were making enquiries as to the identity of the body as well as the make and model of the car, which was completely destroyed in the fire.
The driver of the truck was taken by ambulance to hospital where he was being treated for shock and minor injuries.
“This is a Christmas nightmare for the families of the two people involved in this road traffic collision, there’s no other way to describe it, and my deepest sympathies go to the families of both people,” said local Fine Gael councillor Adam Teskey.
“It is the second fatal road collision in a week, following the death of a young person in west Limerick almost to the day last week.
“A day doesn’t go by now and we are hearing of more and more tragedies on our roads, and this fatal collision this morning is one of the saddest that I have heard about, it is a Christmas nightmare for the poor families involved.”
The scene is currently being preserved for examination by Garda forensic collision investigators. The road remains closed between O’Rourke’s Cross and Banogue.
Gardaí are now appealing for any witnesses to the fatal collision to contact them.
“Anyone who was travelling on the N20 in the Bruree area between 1.40am and 2.15am is asked to make contact with investigating Gardaí. Road users with camera footage (including dashcam) are asked to make that footage available.
Gardaí can be contacted at the Newcastle West Garda Station on 069 20650, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.