Officers from An Garda Síochána were instructed not to pursue a stolen vehicle that was driving the wrong way along a motorway moments before a fatal collision on the M9 in Co Kildare. Five teenagers, all believed to be passengers in the suspected stolen BMW, died at the scene when the car crashed head-on into another vehicle during the early hours of Sunday.
All four people in the other car sustained serious injuries, including a child. The family had been travelling to Dublin Airport for a holiday.
Details of the Incident
The collision occurred at approximately 3am on Sunday morning. A Gardai spokesperson said the incident happened when one of the cars was travelling in the wrong direction. The BMW had previously failed to stop for Gardai, and an order was issued not to engage with the car as it travelled the wrong way down the M9, according to GRA vice-president John Joe O'Connell.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland radio programme, Mr O'Connell said: "This involved a stolen BMW that drove – trying to evade gardaí – drove the wrong way down the M9 and then a head-on collision occurred with this car of a family heading to Dublin Airport on holidays for a few days." He added that the command and control centre dictates what happens in a live environment, but members in the cars have to make a split-second decision.
Garda Representative Reaction
The Garda Representative Association (GRA) said its members were "all in shock" following the "horrific incident". Mr O'Connell stated that there were "numerous gangs" of boys and young men "trying to outdo each other" in social media videos depicting interactions with Gardaí, pursuits and wrong-way driving. He said: "Our members are not going to follow down that route – we're damned if you do and damned if you don't, that way."
Mr O'Connell noted that officers face internal sanctions, disciplinary action and potential criminal charges when they choose to engage in pursuits. He also revealed that garda vehicles have been rammed by stolen cars.
Call for Action
Mr O'Connell called for a need to "look at the sentences" when such cases come before the courts, condemning those engaging in wrong-way driving as "playing Russian roulette with their lives and everyone else's lives". He appealed to parents to speak with their sons about the potential consequences of getting into a stolen vehicle "for the craic and the clicks".
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly described the head-on collision between junctions 3 and 4 as "horrific", cautioning that "in some cases" vehicles are being driven on the wrong side of motorways for social media likes. The previous weekend, nine people were left injured following a head-on collision on the M50 in Dublin, involving a car travelling the wrong way along the motorway.
