An elderly woman has died in a road traffic collision in Co Clare on Friday evening.
The incident occurred at around 4pm on the main N68 Kilrush to Ennis road on the outskirts of the West Clare town close to the local golf club.
The head-on crash involved a car travelling into Kilrush and a fuel truck travelling in the direction of Ennis.
It’s understood the woman, believed to be in her early 70s, may have lost control of her car which crossed the road before colliding with the oncoming truck.
It’s also believed that the lorry driver managed to bring his vehicle to a stop before the collision occurred and was uninjured.
Emergency services were alerted and two units of Kilrush Fire Brigade along with an ambulance and rapid response advanced paramedic unit responded to the incident.
Gardaí closed the road on both sides and diverted traffic away from the scene while fire crews and paramedics dealt with the incident.
Paramedics are understood to have spent over 30 minutes battling to resuscitate the woman, however, she was pronounced dead at around 4.40pm.
Her body was later removed to University Hospital Limerick where a post-mortem examination will take place later.
It’s believed the woman lost control of her vehicle which crossed the road and mounted a footpath before colliding with the truck.
Gardaí are investigating the circumstances of the collision including how the vehicle came to cross the road and whether it was because the woman became ill at the wheel.
Garda forensic collision investigators carried out an examination of the scene before both vehicles were removed for further tests.
A Garda spokesman confirmed: “The collision occurred at around 4.00pm on the Kilrush to Ennis road just outside Kilrush.
"A car collided with a truck and unfortunately, the female driver of the car, a woman in her early 70s, was fatally injured. She was pronounced dead at the scene.”
“We are appealing to anyone who travelled the Kilrush to Ennis road at around 4.00pm or before to contact us if they witnessed the collision or have any information that might assist us in our investigation. If any driver has dashcam footage from the area at around the time of the collision, we would appreciate it if they came forward.”
Gardaí at Kilrush can be contacted on 065 9080550 while the Garda confidential line is 1800 666111.
