Five teenage boys died in a head-on collision on the M9 motorway in County Kildare, Ireland, early on Sunday morning, after their vehicle was driven the wrong way. A family of four travelling in a Hyundai were seriously injured; they were heading to Dublin airport to fly to a wedding in England, according to the Mirror.
Victims named as tributes pour in
The boys, who were in a BMW, have been named locally as Jeremy O'Brien, 18, from Carlow; Alex McCarthy, 17, from Carlow; Joey Carthy, 15, from Athy, Kildare; Jack Kennedy, 17, also from Athy; and Kamil Pustkowski, 17, from Limerick. All five died at the scene.
Family and friends have paid tribute. Jeremy O'Brien's mother, Margaret, posted: "Rest in heavenly peace, my beautiful son. Things will never be the same without you. You took a piece of my heart to heaven with you. It was such a privilege to be your mother. I am so proud of you."
A tribute to Joey Carthy said: "Why did it have to be you of all people? You would never see a bad bone in his body. He really was going to make something when he grew up." Tributes to Kamil Pustkowski included one friend saying on TikTok: "Rest easy, Kamil. Look over all of us." Another added: "Only spoke the other day and was planning to meet. My heart's broken bro, missing ye already. We will all do ye proud brother."
Survivors' conditions and investigation
A seven-year-old boy among the survivors is being treated at Crumlin Children's Hospital with a broken leg. The female driver and front seat passenger remain in critical condition at Tallaght University Hospital in south Dublin. A woman in the back seat was taken to St Luke's General Hospital in Kilkenny in a serious condition and later moved to St Vincent's Hospital in south Dublin.
The Gardai initially believed the teens had stolen the car after receiving reports of young people trying to break into vehicles and houses in nearby Athy at 2am. Officers are now satisfied the vehicle was legitimately purchased by an associate of one of the teenagers for €1,100 (£940). Detectives continue to investigate, and Fiosrue, the police ombudsman, is examining Gardai contact with the vehicle before the crash.
Debate over police response and road safety
The tragedy has prompted debate over how Gardai should respond to such incidents, as officers did not pursue the vehicle when it drove the wrong way. A video showing another car being driven wrong-way has sparked calls for more road safety enforcement; the clip shows a vehicle narrowly avoiding two oncoming heavy goods vehicles. Representatives for frontline officers are calling for appropriate pursuit training.
Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he was "shocked and saddened" and described the crash as the result of "an irresponsible and dangerous act". He added: "This is the second appalling crash we've seen on our roads in a matter of days as a result of the reckless driving of a car on the wrong side of the motorway, endangering the lives of innocent road users."
