This article is from page 3 of the 2006-12-19 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
A WOMAN in her 70s was killed after she was struck by a car as she crossed the road, west of Kilrush yesterday evening.
The tragedy struck at Carnacalla, more than a mile on the Kilkee road outside Kilrush. The woman, who is from the area, was crossing the road at a crossroads with the intention of getting into a car shortly after 7.30pm.
She is understood to have been on her way to a bridge game when the accident happened. A young man from west Clare was driving the car which collided with the woman. She died instantly at the scene and the driver of the car was treated for shock injuries.
The Scenes of Crime unit was dispatched to the accident location and roads remain closed this morning. Gardaí say road conditions were wet at the time and there was also a dense fog in the area.
This latest victim is the third pedestrian to be killed on the county’s roads this year and is the ninth road fatality in Clare in 2006 – five of the fatal accidents happened in west Clare.
Meanwhile, there was chaos on the streets of Ennis yesterday evening after a garda chase which lasted up to 30 minutes and culminated in the the arrest of three young men from Limerick who were travelling in a NIssan Primera car.
An unmarked garda car was rammed and two cars were damaged in the incident, which began at around 7pm. Gardaí gave chase to the Primera through several parts of the town. It was eventually halted at a cul-de-sac in Claureen Drive on the Lahinch Road at around 7.30pm after it hit a pier.
One young man was arrested at the scene and two others went into hiding but were arrested shortly after. The three – two 16-year-olds and an 18-year-old – were detained at Ennis Garda Station last night.
The drama arose after mobile phones were reported stolen from a shop on O’Connell Street at 7pm and this led to the chase. Gardaí believe the Primera may have been stolen in Limerick.