Post-mortems to take place after five boys killed in crash on wrong side of motorway
Three women and a child who were in a second car are being treated in hospital for serious injuries.
Autopsies are scheduled to be conducted on the five teenage boys who died in a head-on collision in County Kildare. Their car was traveling against traffic on the M9 Northbound when it crashed into another vehicle.
The incident occurred around 3:00 AM local time on Sunday, between Junction 3 and Junction 4 of the M9 motorway, near Moone. The vehicle carrying the teenagers was moving southbound in the northbound lanes when it struck the second car.
Three women, two in their 30s and one in her 20s, along with a child from the second car, sustained serious injuries and were hospitalized.
Irish police (Gardaí) have confirmed that no pursuit was underway prior to the collision. They are appealing for witnesses or anyone who was driving on that section of the motorway at the time to come forward. Forensic investigators have concluded their examination of the crash site.
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly characterized the injured individuals as "family members" who were "traveling innocently" when their vehicle was hit by the car driving on the wrong side of the motorway. He described the crash as a "horrific incident" and attributed it to "irresponsible and dangerous driving."
Commissioner Kelly further stated, "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." He added that police "do what they can to stop such vehicles while also taking into consideration all other road users," noting that "Gardaí are put in a really challenging situation dealing with such incidents."
Councillor Ivan Keatley of Fine Gael reported that a motorist who "came upon the horrific scene" raised the alarm, and emergency services responded "almost immediately." Speaking on BBC NI's Good Morning Ulster programme, he said, "The scene itself was visible from the local motorway bridge and it was very obvious from the scene of the accident that it was very, very serious." He described the state of the two cars as "horrific."
Councillor Keatley believes the family in the second car was en route to the airport for a holiday. He expressed, "It's a real sense, I suppose initially of shock and absolutely of disbelief. But I think since that, that has grown into an almost sense of anger that this could be allowed to happen." He extended thoughts and prayers to the victims' families and hoped for the recovery of the injured parties.
Sinn Féin TD for Kildare South, Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh, called the scenes "absolutely catastrophic." Ms. Ní Raghallaigh added, "This loss of life is colossal and the effect those losses will have on their friends and families is incalculable."