PART OF M6 CLOSED FOLLOWING FATAL ATHLONE CRASH

Date Published: 06-Mar-2010

The new M6 Galway to Dublin motorway is closed between Ballinasloe and Athlone following a fatal crash near Athlone this morning.

A man in his seventies was walking along a stretch of the M6 in Monksfield at around quarter to six when he was struck by a car.

Emmergency services attended, and the elderly man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The body has now been removed, and it's understood a post mortem will take place at University Hospital Galway later today.

A forensic examination of the scene is now being carried out, and the motorway between Ballinasloe and Athlone has been sealed off.

Gardaí say all eastbound traffic will be diverted via Ballydangan on the old Athlone road from Ballinasloe