A mother has described how her 22-year-old son survived a head-on motorway crash after his car was hit by a reportedly stolen vehicle carrying eight underage teenagers. Sarah Jane Fox said her son Craig stepped out of his wrecked Skoda Fabia to check on the other occupants moments after the collision on the M50 in Dublin.
The crash happened around 5.30am on Sunday near junction 12 of the motorway at Firhouse. The Toyota Yaris, which was allegedly stolen, was travelling the wrong way down an off-ramp when it hit Craig's car head-on. It has been reported that the Toyota was carrying eight teenagers, all under 16, including a 13-year-old boy who suffered critical, life-threatening injuries. Craig and the other seven teenagers were taken to hospital, with Craig suffering internal bleeding.
Mother credits 'guardian angels' for son's survival
Ms Fox told the Neil Prendeville Show that her son managed to get out of the wreckage and check on the teenagers in the other vehicle. "There were guardian angels with my child on Sunday morning," she said. "It's the only thing I can tell you how he walked out of that car."
She said Craig sat down about 10 feet away after getting out, but first walked over to the other car. "But he walked out of that car and checked on the other kids. He was asking how they were."
Craig's internal bleeding stopped without surgery, his mother confirmed. "Craig is doing well at the moment. He's stable," she said. "He had some internal bleeding yesterday, but it stopped without surgery, which was a relief. He's sitting up, talking, but he is sore all over, which is expected. He was hit head-on at 100 kilometres an hour so he's in shock as well."
Phone lost in crash, mother called from officer's phone
Craig called his mother from a police officer's phone just after 5.30am because his own phone had been thrown from the car during the crash. Ms Fox said: "Craig rang me at 5:32 from a police officer's phone. He couldn't find his phone. We realised then it had flown out of the car when it was spinning. He rang me from the police officer's phone, and I got into my car and was across the M50 as quickly as I could."
Emergency services arrived within minutes, she said. "Craig said it was no more than two minutes before the police were jumping the barrier on the M50 because they came down the correct side of the road and came across to him."
Mother says she does not blame the children
Ms Fox said she was distressed after learning that those in the other vehicle were under 16. She had seen TikTok videos involving the young people. "The TikTok videos show children in that car, and I keep saying the word children because that's all they are," she said.
She said she had heard that the group had allegedly been in a stolen car for several hours before the collision, but stressed this was second-hand information she could not confirm. "Apparently, this is what I'm hearing, and again, it's I'm hearing it second-hand, so I can't confirm it," she said. "But they were out prior to hitting my child for a number of hours in a robbed car."
Despite her anger and heartbreak, Ms Fox repeatedly stressed she was not looking to blame the children. "I don't blame the children for this. I'm not going to place blame on anyone," she said. "It's after happening. My child is alive and he's lucky, but there has to be consequences for someone for what's happened."
She added: "What they've done is wrong. I'm not taking or minimising what they've done is wrong. What I'm saying is, I'm not going to start placing hate and anger after the families. I hope they make it up for the justice system."
Crash leaves apprentice without car
The crash has also left Craig without the car he relies on for his electrical apprenticeship. "My child has no car now. He's a third-year electrician, and he's no car for work now," Ms Fox said. "And he's not going to have a car for a while." She said she was also worried about whether her son would be able to get behind the wheel again. "And the other thing is, is my child going to get back in a car after what's happened?" she said.
Craig remembers the crash, according to his mother. "Every bit of it," she said when asked if he could recall what happened. "That's why, at the moment, he's still in shock. It's going to cause issues, I think."
Ms Fox described her son as a hard-working 22-year-old who secured his electrical apprenticeship himself and had been working since before he left school. "He's a good kid. He's a kind, caring, loving young fella that's gone out. He's been working since before he left school," she said. "He got his apprenticeship off his own back. He used his initiative. He got it all off his own back." She said Craig had been looking forward to finishing his apprenticeship and travelling.
"He goes to his gym. He has his girlfriend. He has his pals there - normal 22-year-old young fella," she said. "And his dream is that when he finishes electrical apprenticeship, that he goes travelling."
For Ms Fox, the memory of the crash scene remains deeply distressing. "Once I knew my child was okay, I could look at something else," she said. "But if you were at that crash site and you'd seen what I saw at that crash site - it was like a clown car with eight children coming out of it." She said emergency crews were treating those involved as the young people emerged from the vehicle. "Those kids that came out of it, were on the ground. Ambulance men everywhere," she said. "And that's, I think, why I have this reaction, because I saw the crash site."
For now, her focus is on Craig's recovery and the lasting impact the collision may have on his life. She is grateful her son survived, but believes what happened cannot simply be left without consequences. "My child is alive and he's lucky, but there has to be consequences for someone for what's happened."
The State's policing watchdog has launched an independent investigation into the incident. In a statement on Monday, Fiosrú, which investigates incidents involving contact with Gardaí where a member of the public has died or been seriously injured, confirmed it received a referral regarding the incident. It said a team of investigators attended the scene and an independent investigation is ongoing.
"A referral does not necessarily mean a garda or gardaí have been accused of wrongdoing. Instead, it means that Fiosrú should independently investigate the incident to ascertain whether or not the act or omission of a garda or gardaí may have resulted in the death of, or serious harm to, a person," it said.
