The five teenage boys who died in a devastating M9 crash on Sunday morning have been named. The high-powered BMW they were travelling in was heading the wrong way along the motorway when it collided with a family car en route to Dublin Airport.
Victims Identified
The victims are 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.
While gardaí have not officially released the names, they have informed the families of all five teenagers, with a liaison officer assigned to each family. Post-mortems are expected to take several days before the teenagers' remains can be returned to their loved ones.
Crash Details
The BMW is believed to have been travelling in excess of 120km/h (75mph) at the point of impact with the Hyundai, near Junction 3 of the M9 in Co Kildare at approximately 3am on Sunday.
The Hyundai's occupants, three women and a young child from the same extended family from Carlow, survived but sustained serious injuries. The seven-year-old boy is receiving treatment at Crumlin Children's Hospital. The female driver and front seat passenger remain critically ill at Tallaght University Hospital, while the woman seated in the rear beside the child is in a serious condition at St Luke's General Hospital in Kilkenny.
Investigation and Reaction
Gardaí in Athy are continuing their investigation, though the M9 was fully reopened to traffic on Monday morning.
The Garda Representative Association (GRA) stated that its members were "all in shock" following the "horrific incident". GRA vice-president John Joe O'Connell revealed that the BMW had previously failed to stop for gardaí, and that it was his understanding an instruction had been issued not to engage with the vehicle as it travelled the wrong way down the M9.
When asked whether this was standard procedure, he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland: "It would be standard practice, and the command and control centre would be dictating what happens in a live environment – but the members in the cars have to make a split-second decision."
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.
"Our members are not going to follow down that route – we're damned if you do and damned if you don't, that way," he said.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was "shocked and saddened" at the tragedy, which he described as being the result of "an irresponsible and dangerous act". Mr Martin said that such incidents are, in some cases, "being done for likes on social media".
He said: "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."
Anyone with information is urged to contact Athy Garda Station on 01 666 6000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.
