Victim of fatal Limerick collision named

The fatal collision occurred between Junction 28 and 29 on the M7, near Mr Thornton's home in Annacotty on the outskirts of Limerick city, around 10am this morning.

The road, which was closed for most of the day for a garda forensic inspection, reopened around 6pm Tuesday.

A crashed black Renault Laguna was discovered by members of Limerick City Fire and Rescue Service who were first on the scene.

Its understood the car Mr Thornton had been driving had crashed through a railing and into a ditch.

Mr Thornton, a PHD graduate from the University of Limerick where he worked as a researcher - was pronounced dead at the scene.

No one else was injured and no other car was involved in the collision.

Gardaí said Mr Thornton was married with one child and living in Annacotty.

Mr Thornton's sister Aoife Thornton holds a seat for Fine Gael on Kerry County Council, representing the Listowel area.

A voicemail on her mobile phone stated she could not be reached following "a family bereavement".

Listowel Fianna Fail County Councillor Jimmy Moloney, who extended his sympathies to the family, described Mr Thornton's death as "a tragic loss of life".

Three units of the Limerick city fire service attended the crash site, along with Gardaí and a HSE ambulance crew.

AA Roadwatch had earlier cautioned people to avoid the area between the J29, Ballysimon and the J28, Castletroy, due to "heavy traffic".

Gardaí closed the road to allow an examination of the crash scene by a Garda Forensic Collision Investigator.

A garda source said they had no clear information as to what caused the crash.

A post mortem will be carried out on the deceased's body to try to establish an exact cause of death.