Five teenagers killed in a head-on crash on the M9 in County Kildare were wearing balaclavas, police sources have said. The collision happened at around 3am on Sunday, August 16, when the BMW they were travelling in drove the wrong way down the motorway for a second time.
Another four people, believed to be a family heading to Dublin Airport for a holiday, were seriously injured. Gardaí confirmed that all five teenagers died at the scene, while the family members were taken to hospital.
Police did not give chase
Police sources told the Irish Mirror that officers did not pursue the stolen BMW on either occasion. A source said: "Members disengaged the first time it went down the road the wrong way - and didn't get a chance to engage the second time."
Officers believe criminals drive in the wrong direction "for social media likes". The crash scene was so severe that gardaí initially thought only four teenagers had died, as the fifth body was not visible until specialists removed the car later in the afternoon.
Investigation and inquiries
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly released a statement as two separate investigations were launched. An Garda Síochána is investigating the crash itself, while the independent policing watchdog Fiosrú is probing any potential interactions gardaí had with the vehicle before the collision.
Mr Kelly said: "My thoughts are with those injured in this morning's collision on the M9. These family members were travelling innocently when they were struck by a vehicle being driven the wrong way down the motorway." He added that such behaviour was "being done for social media likes regardless of the potentially devastating impact it might have on innocent people and themselves."
Sequence of events
The incident began about 30 minutes before the crash when gardaí spotted the BMW behaving suspiciously. Officers attempted to intercept it, but the car accelerated onto the motorway the wrong way, prompting officers to stand down. The car then performed a U-turn, rejoined the M9 correctly, and exited at Junction 2A.
As gardaí prepared to deploy a stinger device, the occupants spotted a police vehicle and accelerated away. The BMW drove the wrong way down the exit ramp and back onto the motorway, again against traffic. Within minutes, it collided head-on with a Hyundai travelling correctly. All five teenagers in the BMW were killed, while the four occupants of the Hyundai were injured.
The family from Carlow comprised a seven-year-old child, a woman in her 20s, and two people in their 30s. Gardaí confirmed: "The female driver and front passenger, both aged in her 30s of the second car have been removed from the scene to Tallaght University Hospital and both remain in critical condition." A female rear seat passenger in her 20s was taken to St. Luke's General Hospital, and the child was taken to Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin, both in serious condition. The child suffered a broken leg.
Gardaí appealed for witnesses and dashcam footage from the M9 between 2:00am and 3:00am. Fiosrú confirmed it was conducting an independent investigation, with a spokesman saying: "A referral does not necessarily mean a garda or gardaí have been accused of wrongdoing."
Tributes were paid to the teenagers, whose names were circulated on social media. Gardaí said the bodies were removed to Naas General Hospital for post-mortems, and Family Liaison Officers have been appointed to relatives of both vehicles' occupants.
