FOUR people have died after a 12 wheel truck and five oncoming cars collided on a wide stretch of the Limerick Tralee road near the village of Croagh at midday yesterday.
Those who died at the scene were the middle aged driver of a Co Louth registered heavy truck believed to be from Northern Ireland, and a younger man who was in the passenger seat, as well as a young mother, named locally as Ms Mary Doherty, and her four year old daughter, Emma.
The woman, who has not been formally identified, ran the Woodville riding centre with her husband, Eugene, at Dually, Newcastle West, 10 miles away. She was driving the first of the five cars from the Limerick direction.
Her two year old baby Sarah who was strapped in the back seat was said last night to be in a serious but stable condition in Limerick Regional Hospital.
The accident occurred on the Croagh by pass, a long, straight road 45 ft wide about five miles on the Rathkeale side of Adare. Firemen from Rathkeale, using special equipment, took two hours to cut the dead and injured from the wreckage.
The firemen received an emergency call at 11.50 am. and arrived at the scene five minutes later. Although the Renault car was in several parts, the mother and daughter were still in their seats when removed by the fire brigade.
Mr Frank Dennison, acting chief Co Limerick fire officer said: "The scene was like a battlefield, with so much wreckage scattered all over the road, and the nearby fields. It was the worst road tragedy I have ever seen."
Mr Richard Bullick, a service technician from Minnesota, in the US, who with his wife, Stephanie, was further back in the traffic coming from Limerick, said: "I heard a terrible bang, like an explosion, and saw parts of the car being thrown some 50 ft into the air.
He said the cab of the truck hit a wall on the other side of the road, knocking over a pile of concrete blocks and finishing up 10 yards into the field. "We barely avoided the accident ourselves as we were the last car in the line and I was able to stop.
"The woman and child in the first car were dead when my wife and myself went down to see what we could do. The baby was in its seat crying and my wife went to get a jacket to cover up the baby. It was the worst accident I have ever seen.
Mr John O'Sullivan, a part time fireman at the Rathkeale fire brigade for the past eight years, said: "I was shocked at the extent of the tragedy and the destruction which was the worst I have ever seen.
"The mother and child were in their seats, but the biggest job was cutting out the lorry driver and the young man beside him. They were clearly dead and the cab was in a field on its side, separate from the container, which was also on its side on the hard shoulder of the road.
"It was carrying a consignment of apples and potatoes in boxes, some of which were scattered about the area. Some of the concrete blocks from the wall were driven 50 ft into the field, leaving a gap of almost 40 ft in the wall."
Mr Jack Lynch, a senior engineer with Limerick Corporation, described the accident as "the worst I have ever seen".
A number of fatal accidents have taken place in this area in recent years and it was almost at the same spot that two Spanish students died in a vehicle crash a few years ago.
The four dead were taken to Limerick Regional Hospital where they were awaiting positive identification last night. A hospital spokesman said the dead were two men, one woman and a young girl, aged four to six years.
A baby was admitted to the intensive care unit in a critical condition but was described last night as being "stable". A woman was admitted to the surgical department and was described as "comfortable". Three other women were discharged after treatment in the casualty department.
Mr Michael Finucane TD last night expressed concern at the number of deaths which had occurred in recent years on the new stretch of road.