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"This Isn't A Game, It Could Have Been Catastrophic": Driver Left Shaken After Rock-Throwing Incident On M7

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Several cars were impacted.

A large rock was thrown from an overpass on Saturday night just after the the Portlaoise toll, shattering the windscreen of a car and causing damage to several other vehicles.

Brid Crotty, who was travelling in her car when it happened, said it could have had devastating consequences.

Speaking on Kildare Today, she said it raises serious concerns about safety and security on the motorway.

"I was driving along the M7, about 10 o'clock, when suddenly there was a huge loud bang, and I couldn't see out of the windscreen. Something serious had happened. I managed to keep control and pull into the hard shoulder," she said.

When she pulled the car over, Brid and her friend discovered that the windscreen had been shattered by a rock. They noticed people on the overpass and saw other cars pulling over.

"There were several cars in front of us. One car behind me had also been hit after the rock bounced off my vehicle," she said.

It is understood that five cars were affected by the rock-throwing incident.

The occupants of the cars gathered to check on each other.

Two cars were badly damaged, but all drivers managed to pull over safely.

 "Imagine if it had been busy, or if I had lost control of the car. The consequences could have been catastrophic," Brid said.

"It was obviously a game to these kids, but it's incredibly dangerous."

Emergency services were called to the scene, but the response time was lengthy due to the need to dispatch officers from Thurles.

"It took nearly an hour for the guards to arrive. The motorway official who came first was very helpful and mentioned that a similar incident had occurred two weeks ago," Brid said.

She said the incident highlights the need for increased safety measures on motorway overpasses, such as installing cameras to monitor activity and raising the height of railings to prevent individuals from throwing objects onto the road.

"If anyone saw something, they should report it. We need more patrols and better safety measures to prevent this from happening again," Brid said.

"This isn't a game. Someone could get seriously hurt or worse. If you're throwing stones at cars on the motorway, it's only a matter of time before something tragic happens," she added.

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