THIRTEEN PEOPLE were injured in a number of road and Luas collisions over the weekend.
Five people were injured in a three-vehicle road crash yesterday morning at Eglinton, Derry.
They were all taken to hospital and one man sustained a neck fracture. The collision occurred on the Clooney Road at the junction with Ballygudden Road at 12.05am.
Following the incident, a 40- year old man was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and driving while unfit. The PSNI is appealing for witnesses.
Six of the weekend injuries were sustained in two incidents involving Luas trams in Dublin on Friday night and Saturday morning.
In the first incident, five people were taken to hospital when a taxi collided with a Luas tram on the red line, near Smithfield at about 8.15pm on Friday.
Four of the injured people, who were in the taxi, and a fifth person who was on the Luas were taken to St James's Hospital. Four were later discharged and the fifth is said to be in a stable condition.
Later that night at about 12.30am, a man in his 30s sustained a serious injury to his leg when he tried to board a Luas tram on the green line at Ranelagh. He was taken to St Vincent's hospital.
Figures released over the weekend by the Rail Procurement Agency show that there have been more than 200 incidents involving Luas trams in the four years they have been running.
In the first six months of operation, there were 21 incidents, including crashes and derailments. The average annual count of incidents has been 47 and so far this year there have been 43. In all there have been 205 incidents.
In one case a person died, while 41 cases resulted in people being brought to hospital.
This weekend, seven people were injured in road collisions.
In Dublin a woman was seriously injured at 3.15am on Saturday at the Fairview Strand/ Malahide Road junction. A man in his 30s was hit by a car on the Tonlegee Road in Coolock at about 8.30pm on Friday. He was taken to Beaumont Hospital where he is in a critical but stable condition.
Separately, gardaí are investigating a fire in Co Galway that badly damaged a bus on the main Tuam to Galway Road, at Knockdoe, on Saturday morning.
Two units of Galway fire brigade were called to the scene.
