Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said the head-on M9 collision at Co Kildare was ‘horrific’ and that ‘in some cases’ vehicles are being driven on the wrong side of motorways for social media likes
“Numerous gangs” of boys and young men are “trying to outdo each other” in social media videos depicting interactions with Gardaí, pursuits and wrong-way driving.
John Joe O’Connell, Garda Representative Association (GRA) vice-president, made the comments following a horrific fatal head-on collision between junctions 3 and 4 on the M9 motorway in Co Kildare in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Five teenagers, all passengers in a reportedly stolen BMW, tragically lost their lives, and four individuals – including a child – were seriously injured when the vehicle collided with a family heading to Dublin Airport for a holiday. The five teens have now been named locally as brothers Alex (15) and Jeremy McCarthy (16) from Éire Óg in Carlow Town; Joe Carthy from Athy, Co Kildare; and Barry Chappell and Jack Kennedy, both from the Tullow Road area of Carlow Town. Official identification has not yet been released by Gardaí.
The four occupants of the second vehicle, which was travelling in the correct direction towards Dublin Airport for a family wedding in Cheshire, UK, were also named locally. Sisters Alma and Niamh Kinsella, both in their 30s, were in the front seats and remain in critical condition at Tallaght University Hospital.
Their sister Ellie Hendricken, in her 20s, was a rear-seat passenger alongside her seven-year-old nephew, reports breakingnews.ie. Hendricken was transferred to St Vincent’s University Hospital from St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny on Sunday night, while the young boy is receiving treatment at Children’s Health Ireland in Crumlin. All four injured passengers are from the Carlow area.
Mr O’Connell revealed the BMW had previously failed to stop for gardaí and that he understood an order was given from the command and control centre not to engage or pursue the vehicle as it travelled the wrong way down the motorway.
Addressing standard procedure in a live environment, he told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland radio programme: “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.”
He noted that members were “all in shock” over the incident, adding: “Our members are not going to follow down that route – we’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t, that way.”
The Kildare representative stated the GRA did not “know what the exact answer is” to tackle the issue, but highlighted severe operational constraints: “There’s not one member of An Garda Síochána trained in pursuit – never mind in dealing with cars going down the wrong way.”
He added that gardaí face internal penalties, disciplinary action and potential criminal charges when engaging in pursuits, while garda vehicles themselves have been targeted by stolen cars.
Criticising those involved in wrong-way driving as “playing Russian roulette with their lives and everyone else’s lives,” Mr O’Connell urged lawmakers to “look at the sentences” issued by courts. He also encouraged parents to talk to their children about the repercussions of getting into a stolen car “for the craic and the clicks”.
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly echoed these concerns, labelling the head-on collision “horrific” and cautioning that “in some cases” vehicles are being driven on the wrong side of motorways for social media likes.
The tragedy comes just a week after nine individuals were injured in a similar head-on collision on the M50 in Dublin involving a car travelling the wrong way.
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