A man has died and six people have been injured following a three-car collision on the N4 dual carriageway.

It happened just before 2pm yesterday on the eastbound lanes of the road between junction 15, Mullingar East and 14 The Downs.

The driver of one of the cars, a man in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene a short time after the emergency services arrived.

One line of inquiry being investigated by gardaí is that he may have been travelling on the wrong side of the road at the time of the crash.

His body was removed to the mortuary at Mullingar Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

Six people travelling in the other two cars involved in the crash were taken by ambulance to hospital in Mullingar and Tullamore.

Their injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.

A section of the road was closed as paramedics and fire brigade personnel tended to the injured.

Diversions were put in place while Garda forensic collision investigators examined the scene.

Traffic was diverted from the N52 east on to the M6 and there was major disruption as the work was carried out.

Liam McDaniel, a local Fianna Fáil councillor, said the crash was very sad news.

"Condolences to that young man and his family," he said.

A local man said he had heard the scene of the crash was "horrific".

"There would have been a bit of traffic on the road with some games on and fans travelling and that. I've heard it was horrific, it's awful news," he said.

He said it was a clear, open road.

"It's not a motorway, but it's a big, open road," he said.

Investigating gardaí have appealed for witnesses to come forward.

Anyone with information has been asked to contact Mullingar garda station on 044 9384000 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.

Meanwhile, gardaí said they had checked 132,188 vehicles over the course of National Slow Down Day, which ran for 24 hours from 7am on Friday.

During this time, 211 vehicles were caught speeding. One of the most shocking examples was a motorist who was caught travelling at 121kmh, more than twice the 60kmh limit, on the R123 at Balgriffin, Dublin 13.

Online Editors