Five teenagers dead and four injured after car drives on wrong side of motorway

Five teenage boys have died and four people have been taken to hospital following a two-vehicle crash in County Kildare.

The collision occurred on the M9 Northbound at Junction 3 at about 03:00 local time on Sunday.

Gardaí said the bodies of the five teenage boys, all occupants of one vehicle, have now been removed from the scene and taken to Naas General Hospital where post mortems will take place.

They said the vehicle had been travelling on the wrong side of the carriageway when a head on collision occurred with a second car.

The driver and front passenger, both female and aged in their 30s, of the second car have been removed from the scene to Tallaght University Hospital and both remain in critical condition.

A female rear seat passenger, aged in her 20s, was taken to St. Luke’s General Hospital and is in a serious condition.

The third passenger, who is a child, has been removed to Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin and is in a serious condition.

The section of the M9 from Junction 3 to Junction 4 northbound and southbound remains closed with local diversions in place.

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly described those injured in the crash as “family members” who were “travelling innocently” when they were struck by the car driving on the wrong side of the motorway.

He described it as a “horrific incident” and “irresponsible and dangerous driving”.

“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.”

Kelly added that officers “do what they can to stop such vehicles while also taking into consideration all other road users”.

“Gardaí are put in a really challenging situation dealing with such incidents.”

Irish broadcaster RTÉ have reported that gardaí said there was no pursuit taking place when the collision occurred.

Gardaí said Fiosrú (the Office of the Police Ombudsman) has been notified of the incident.

Fiosrú’s on-call team of investigators attended the scene and an independent investigation is ongoing.

The watchdog said a Fiosrú investigation relates to incidents involving contact with gardaí where a member of the public has died or been seriously injured.

It said a referral does not necessarily mean a garda or gardaí have been accused of wrongdoing.

“Instead, it means that Fiosrú should independently investigate the incident to ascertain whether or not the act or omission of a garda or gardaí may have resulted in the death of, or serious harm to, a person,” it added.

Sinn Féin TD for Kildare South Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh described the scenes as “absolutely catastrophic”.

“My deepest sympathies go out to the families of those who have lost their lives, and for those who remain in a critical condition in hospital,” she said.

“My heart also goes out to the first responders and all of those working in our emergency services who were met with the most horrific of scenes this morning.

“This loss of life is colossal and the effect those losses will have on their friends and families is incalculable,” Ms Ní Raghallaigh added.

Gardaí are appealing for any persons who may have witnessed this collision to come forward.

They are also appealing to road users who were travelling on the M9 northbound or southbound between 02:00 and 03:00 on Sunday and who may have dashcam footage of the incident or surrounding area to make this footage available to investigating Gardaí.