Five teenagers died and four people were seriously injured in a head-on motorway crash in County Kildare, Ireland, early on Sunday (August 16). Police have linked the incident to a social media trend.
Crash details
The collision occurred around 3am on the M9 motorway when a BMW carrying five balaclava-wearing teenagers was driven into oncoming northbound traffic. The BMW collided with a Hyundai carrying four members of the same family, who were travelling to Dublin Airport.
The driver and front passenger of the Hyundai – both in their 30s – were taken to Tallaght University Hospital and remain in a critical condition.
Police response
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said: “What makes this reckless behaviour even more appalling is that in some cases it is being done for social media likes, regardless of the potentially devastating impact it might have on innocent people and themselves.”
Kelly added: “As this particular incident has been referred to Fiosrú, the Police Ombudsman, I am constrained in what I can say in detail about this. But I know that gardaí do what they can to stop such vehicles while also taking into consideration all other road users.”
Investigation
Police are investigating reports into whether the BMW was stolen. The crash was the second in just over a week involving injuries after a vehicle was driven on the wrong side of the road. Nine people were injured in a head-on collision on the M50 motorway in Dublin on August 9; that car had been reported stolen.
According to several sources, the crash scene was so horrific that gardaí initially thought only four teenagers had perished, as they were visible in the wreckage. It wasn't until late in the afternoon, when specialists moved the car, that the fifth body was found beneath the vehicle.
Officers were alerted to a group of teenagers attempting to break into cars and houses in the town in the early hours of the morning – some time before the fatal crash.
