Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly has condemned those who drive dangerously for “social media likes”, following Sunday’s fatal head on collision on the M9 near Moone, in County Kildare.
The full details of the crash are still to emerge; however, it has been confirmed that five teenagers who were in a BMW have all died, while the three women and a child in the second car are all in hospital with serious injuries.
The bodies of the deceased have been taken to Naas General Hospital for post-mortem examinations.
“In the small hours of Sunday morning, this BMW is understood to have been seen in the County Kildare town of Athy before being spotted again around 3am at the Circle K Kilcullen service station off the M9 - shortly before entering the northbound carriage the wrong way,” Neil Michael of the Irish Examiner explained on Newstalk Breakfast.
“But coming at the BMW, as it was travelling southbound on the northbound carriage, was a family; three women and a young boy, driving to Dublin Airport.
“The BMW collided head on with this car and it's reported that some of the teenagers in the car may have actually been masked.
“Gardaí are also investigating if they'd actually been involved in attempts to break into cars in Athy.”
Emergency services at the scene of the crash. Picture by: Eamon Farrell/RollingNews.ie.Notably, Gardaí were unsure of the exact number of fatalities in the aftermath of the crash.
“Initially it was thought there were only four teenagers in the BMW, and that it was only later that a fifth body was found, which just really illustrates just the pure, just the horrific carnage of this,” Mr Michael said.
Garda operation
The Garda response has been referred to Fiosrú, the Garda Ombudsman, for investigation.
However, Commissioner Justin Kelly said officers were faced with a “really challenging situation”.
He also condemned “reckless behaviour” on Ireland’s roads in recent months.
“It's believed to be the latest in a social media trend in which drivers are filmed travelling the wrong way on motorways,” Mr Michael said.
“They're either doing this for kicks or they do it to evade Gardaí; detectives are understood to believe that at least two or maybe three teenagers in the car, in the BMW, are members of a so-called ‘Lucky Dip’ gang, which is so named as basically they pick their targets at random, be it a house or a car to steal from.
“There's believed to be about 60 youths in this gang, aged anywhere between 13 and 19 - they're supposed to be involved in like literally hundreds of incidents this year alone.”
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Mr Michael continued that this type of dangerous driving is causing “mayhem”, although previously it had mostly been confined to Dublin.
“It's very unusual for a senior officer to offer any kind of a comment or context or nuance around a tragedy like this,” he said.
“Garda cars have been rammed by some of these characters, people have been killed.”
Gardaí have asked any witnesses to contact Athy Garda Station and are especially keen to talk to anyone with dashcam footage.
Main image: Emergency services at the scene of the crash. Picture by: Eamon Farrell/RollingNews.ie.
