Two teenage girls and a school bus driver were hospitalised yesterday after the Bus Éireann coach on which they were travelling was involved in a collision with a cement truck in Co Clare.
The crash occurred shortly after 2.30pm at Lissycasey on the main Ennis to Kilrush road. The 56-seater coach had just completed one school run from Kilmihil and was about to start a second when it collided with a lorry in wet conditions at a junction near Lissycasey national school.
After hitting the lorry, the bus crossed the busy road. Two units of the fire brigade from Ennis went to the scene while an ambulance was sent from Kilrush.
One of the girls did not have any visible injuries, but she was deeply shocked. The second girl was treated at the scene by ambulance personnel along with the male bus driver. Both were then taken by ambulance to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Ennis for treatment.
Gardaí from Ennis are investigating the crash. A Bus Éireann spokesperson confirmed that the company would also be investigating the cause of the accident. The bus was fitted with seat belts.
A spokesperson for the hospital confirmed that one of the girls was discharged after treatment while the second teenager was expected to be "detained overnight for observation". The bus driver was also due to be discharged from hospital last night.