A funeral notice for one of the five teenagers killed in the M9 crash in Ireland has been removed after a wave of abusive comments appeared in its online condolences section.
Funeral Notice Withdrawn
The notice for Joe Carthy, 15, was posted on RIP.ie but was withdrawn following a deluge of hostile and negative remarks, the Irish Mirror reports. The comments expressed anger about the circumstances in which the group of teens drove a BMW the wrong way down the M9 motorway.
The crash occurred on Sunday when the teenagers' BMW, travelling at speeds exceeding 74mph on the wrong side of the motorway, collided head-on with a Hyundai carrying a family of four, including a seven-year-old boy. The family were on their way to Dublin airport to catch a flight to the UK for a wedding. Five teenagers were killed and the family were seriously injured.
Details of the Crash
Gardaí confirmed the vehicle was travelling in excess of 74mph on the wrong side of the rural motorway. Footage surfaced captioned 'last spin boys' purportedly showing the teens driving a BMW on a main road.
The other four teenagers who lost their lives—Kamil Pustkowski, 17, from Limerick; Jack Kennedy, 17, from Athy; Jeremy O'Brien, 18, from Carlow; and Alex McCarthy, 17, also from Carlow—have yet to have funeral notices published. Tributes have been paid to some members of the group.
No Comment from RIP.ie
RIP.ie, owned by The Irish Times Group, stated it does not comment on individual funeral notices, according to The Irish Times. Undertaker Joe Rigney, of Rigney's Funeral Directors, also refused to comment on the removal of the notice.
Gardaí confirmed on Tuesday that they no longer believed the car had been stolen from Athy. Detectives revealed it had been legitimately purchased by an associate of the teenagers a week earlier for €1,100 (£940).
