Two gardai had to be cut from their patrol car after it was rammed by a van on the M1 motorway in County Louth last night.
The driver remains in hospital with head injuries, the passenger has been discharged.
Gardai were called to assist the Traffic Corps after a UK registered Ford Transit van was detected travelling at high speed on the north bound lane of the motorway.
The van refused to stop and rammed the patrol car causing it to spin a number of times before colliding with a barrier on the hard shoulder of the M1 near junction 15, south of Dundalk, near Castlebellingham.
Gardai have described the incident as a deliberate reckless act that could have resulted in far more serious injuries.
