Lucky escape as out-of-control artic ends up overturned on wrong side of the M6

GARDAI and local representatives have expressed relief at the ‘miracle outcome’ of a frightening motorway crash this week in which a huge articulated truck went out of control and ended up overturned on the wrong side of the M6 near Ballinasloe.

A Garda investigation is under way as to how the articulated lorry ended up crashing through the median barrier of the M6 motorway near Ballinasloe before overturning on the opposite side of the Galway to Dublin roadway.

The potentially calamitous incident occurred at around 1pm on Monday as the ‘Walsh’s’ lorry was being driven towards Dublin with a load of light waste timber on board.

The accident occurred between Junction 13 and 14 and the truck ended up straddled across the westbound side of the motorway, the layby and onto a green area at the edge of the roadway.

Both sides of the motorway were strewn with timber from the stricken truck and minutes after Gardai and the emergency services arrived on the scene that section of the motorway was closed until the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Gardai are investigating possible causes of the crash and are understood to have interviewed the driver of the lorry, who escaped injury in the incident.

Onlookers who came on the scene expressed astonishment at ‘the luck’ of no other vehicles being on the Galway bound side of the motorway when the lorry went out of control.

The motorway closure led to increased volumes of traffic through the town of Ballinasloe on Monday afternoon and evening although local councillor, Dermot Connolly said that this was a very small price to pay as compared to what might have happened on the motorway.

“It could have been carnage and thank God, at the end of the day, there was no one injured – it really could have been calamitous had the artic crashed into oncoming traffic.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.