Five teens die in wrong-way M9 crash as Irish police warn of social media driving trend

The crash

Five teenage boys were killed and four people seriously injured when a stolen BMW travelling southbound on the northbound carriageway of the M9 motorway collided head-on with a Hyundai near Moone, County Kildare, at about 03:00 local time on Sunday, 16 August. The Hyundai carried three women (two in their 30s and one in her 20s) and a 7-year-old boy. Minister of State Seán Canney said they were on their way to the airport. The driver and front passenger of the Hyundai were taken to Tallaght University Hospital in critical condition, the rear passenger to St Luke's Hospital in serious condition, and the child to Children's Health Ireland in serious condition. Authorities initially believed four youths were in the BMW; a fifth body was found only when the wreckage was removed. At least one person was ejected from the BMW and found some distance from the crash site.

Police encounter before the crash

Gardaí had requested the BMW to stop at about 2am in Athy, but the driver sped off. The Irish Times reports the black BMW was driven the wrong way down the M9 in two separate stints in the early hours. Gardaí were not pursuing the vehicle at the time of the collision. John Joe O'Connell, vice president of the Garda Representative Association, said it is standard practice for gardaí to stand down a pursuit when a vehicle drives the wrong way, as officers must make a split-second decision. He described the situation as one where gardaí are "damned if you do, and damned if you don't." Gardaí believe the driver went onto the wrong side to evade police, likely knowing patrol cars would not follow against oncoming traffic.

Social media and police training concerns

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said some cases of dangerous driving are carried out for "social media likes."

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.

O'Connell said gardaí have been dealing with cars driving the wrong way to evade police since around 2021, with copycat incidents since. He said no garda member is trained in pursuit, and called for a proper training framework for non-compliant stops. Professor Mary Aiken, a cyber-psychology expert at Capital Technology University in Washington DC, told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that restricting publication of videos glorifying dangerous behaviour should be a first step.

That's the first place that I would start in a policy context and it's the place that you can actually effect immediate change.

Government response and investigations

Minister of State Seán Canney said the Government is preparing legislation to protect gardaí during pursuits and is awaiting input from An Garda Síochána on what supports or legislation are needed. Two investigations have been opened: one by the Garda Síochána and one by Fiosrù, the office of the Ombudsman. Sinn Féin TD for Kildare South Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh described the scenes as "absolutely catastrophic" and said the loss of life was "colossal." Post-mortem examinations on the five boys were scheduled for Monday. Gardaí have appealed for witnesses to the crash or anyone driving on that stretch of the M9 at the time to contact them.