Mum of adlescent killed in fallacious method crash says ‘sorry’ as ‘5 boys made a nasty selection’
The mum of 17-year-old Jack Kennedy, who was killed in a crash after travelling in a car going the wrong way, has said “we are sorry” to the injured victims at her son’s funeral
The mum of one of the five teens killed in a horror crash on the M9 motorway in Ireland after their car was travelling the wrong way has said “sorry” to the injured victims as “five boys made a bad choice”.
Some Garda were stationed in the town ahead of the funeral mass for 17-year-old Jack Kennedy who was killed in the crash on the M9 in Co Kildare last weekend, which was similar scenes to other funerals held for the teens.
Jack was the last of five funerals for the young people killed in a horror crash in Ireland has as calls were heard to “please, please, please, stop” engaging in criminal activity, warning of “consequences” to the community and “innocent victims”.
Jack Kennedy was the last of the five people killed in a wrong-way crash to be laid to rest
Jack died alongside Jeremy O’Brien, Kamil Pustkowski, Joe Carthy and Alex McCarthy when the car they were travelling in was driven the wrong way down the M9 and was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle.
A child and three women from the same family, who were in the other car, are being treated for serious injuries in hospital. The family were on the way to Dublin Airport for a holiday.
Jack’s mother Sarah spoke at the funeral at St Michael’s, Athy, Kildare, on Tuesday morning (August 25). She apologised to the family still recovering in hospital as a result of the crash.
The cortege for Jack Kennedy makes its way through Athy, Co Kildare, ahead of his funeral (Image: Evan Treacy/PA Wire)
She said: “Five young boys made a bad choice. Five young boys paid the ultimate price. Five families lost their babies. Five families got a life sentence. May they all rest in peace.
“Secondly, we all want to send our deepest, heartfelt apologies to the families who were injured. You are all in our thoughts and our prayers. We pray to God that you all make a full recovery and once again, we are sorry.”
In the eulogy, Canon Frank McEvoy referred to anger that has been expressed on social media surrounding the incident.
Five teenagers were killed going the wrong way on the M9 in Co Kildare, Ireland (Image: Niall Carson/PA Wire)
He said: “Words can hurt, and words have the power to heal. It’s also true of actions. Our actions can hurt people, and our actions can heal people.
“In all those situations, we’re responsible for the words that we use, and above all, we’re responsible for the actions that we take.”
He said the feeling in the parish after the crash was “one of shock, confusion, disbelief, and above all, anger”.
Garda officers were seen at the funeral, like they have for most of the five teens killed in the crash(Image: Evan Treacy/PA Wire)
“Anger is a very dangerous emotion, and when it starts to curdle and get going in the community, anything can happen,” he said.
“When you watch social media and you watch the responses and you hear what people are saying, that’s the result of bad actions and very often, then, in all of that, there’s so much hurt created for the family.
“Sarah put it so well, she doesn’t wish any of you to walk in her shoes, to have to bury her son. There’s no great future in all of that.
Dozens of people walked behind the cortege through the streets(Image: Evan Treacy/PA Wire)
“And again, as I say, the dust has settled somewhat, and the week has passed by, there is something I want to say, and especially to Jack’s friends, and it’s this – if you’re considering continuing this criminal activity, will you please stop? Just one word, stop. Because this is the end of it.
“This is a family broken, and the consequences of that will happen to you too, for you yourself, for your families, the communities in which you live in, and then you’ll have the innocent victims, like the people who are in hospital trying to recover. There is no need for it. So again, I say to you, please, please, please, stop.”
One of the items brought to the altar was a car to represent Jack’s “love for cars”. Young, Wild & Free by Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa played as the coffin was taken from the chapel for a private cremation.
Canon Frank McEvoy said Jack’s mum ‘doesn’t wish any of you to walk in her shoes’(Image: Evan Treacy/PA Wire)
The incident came a week before another high profile wrong way crash that saw seven people killed, including two police officers, on the A66 near Middlesbrough.
Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, were killed when the Passat, which had been pursued by police, was driven the wrong way along the dual-carriageway and hit their marked armed response vehicle.
The five people in the Passat, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak, were pronounced dead at the scene at South Bank, early on Saturday (August 22).
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