Paver runs out of control

That nobody was killed or seriously injured was described as a 'miracle' this evening by witnesses to a runaway road machine incident on Hillside this afternoon, writes Brian Byrne.

Kilcullen Main Street was closed for a period after a paving machine careened from the top of Hillside and ran into a corner of Brennans Hardware.

The runaway machine hit a number of cars before coming to a stop against the building.

"The cars were hit outside our premises," says Paul Carey of The Good Food Gallery. "The situation was made more dangerous because cars coming from the bridge end had been given the green signal to drive on, and the machine was heading directly for them."

The part of Brennans against which the machine came to rest is one of the oldest buildings on that section of Main Street, and juts out from the rest of the streetscape. One bystander suggested the driver may have deliberately steered into it to avoid hitting oncoming cars.

The Diary understands that the driver of the machine and some occupants of the cars received minor injuries and were ’shaken’. Emergency services attended the incident and at least one person was taken to hospital.

The machine was involved in the road surfacing currently in progress in the town.

Traffic was diverted by gardai until the machine and the damaged vehicles were removed.