Man (79) dies in M8 crash in Co Tipperary

Southbound lanes of the main Cork-Dublin M8 motorway remain closed this morning following a two-car collision last night which claimed the life of an elderly motorist .

It is understood that the 79-year-old man entered the southbound carriageway of the M8 near Kilbehenny and was driving in the wrong direction when the crash happened.

The head-on collision with another car happened near junction 12, Mitchelstown North in Co Tipperary at around 9pm and it is understood the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The occupants of the other car, two men, suffered non-life threatening injuries in the collision and were treated at the scene by paramedics as gardaí closed off the road.

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The road remains closed this morning to allow Garda forensic crash investigators carry out an examination of the scene and diversions are in place for motorists. Drivers have been advised to avoid the route and expect delays nearby.

Gardaí will not name the deceased until all next of kin are notified but it is understood that the man was local to the Kilbehenny/Cahir area in south Tipperary.

Gardaí in Cahir have appealed to anyone who was travelling on the M8 at the time or witnessed the collision to contact them at Cahir Garda Station on 052-7445630.

It is the second such crash to occur on the same stretch of road in just over a year following the death of 84-year-old farmer Tom Joe O'Riordan on 30th December 2016, who was killed when the vehicle he was driving on the wrong side of the road collided with a van near Rathcormac, Co Cork.

Elsewhere, traffic is moving well this morning following yesterday evening's light dusting of snow, although driving conditions remain poor due to snow along the N59 in Galway between Clifden and Maam Cross.

Met Éireann says any low-lying frost, ice and snow will recede this morning, giving way to a cold, bright and breezy day with top temperatures of three to five degrees.

There may be further scattered wintry showers later in the evening, particularly in the midlands and east where temperatures could drop to as low as minus five degrees overnight.