It has been confirmed that five teenage boys are dead after a car drove the wrong way along a motorway in Ireland.
Gardaí,the Irish police force,said the ‘head-on collision’ took place on the northbound stretch of the M9 road in Co Kildare at around 3am.
It was previously reported that four young males had died in the accident,but the body of a fifth was found in the wreckage this afternoon.
They have been removed from the scene and taken to Naas General Hospital,where post-mortem examinations and formal identifications will take place.
It is also understood that all those who died were travelling in the vehicle driving in the wrong direction.
They reportedly failed to stop for police upon entering the motorway.
Five men have died after a crash on the motorway in Ireland (Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire)The BMW was heading southbound against traffic when it smashed into a Hyundai carrying four other people,all from the same family.A woman in her 20s and two women in their 30s were injured,as was a seven-year-old.They had been travelling on the correct side of the road,driving to Dublin Airport,with images showing suitcases at the roadside.Having been taken to a Dublin children’s hospital in a serious condition,it’s now understood that the child suffered a broken leg and is still receiving treatment.The woman in her 20s was also severely injured and is being treated in St Luke’s General Hospital in Kilkenny,while the other two female passengers are receiving medical care in Tallaght University Hospital in south Co Dublin.Pictures from the scene show one vehicle on the grass to the side of the motorway and covered in red tarp,while the other lies in pieces on the road.Detectives are now trying to piece together the moments prior to the crash; they believe the BMW may have been stolen.Additionally,Gardaí want to establish whether videos were posted on social media before the fatal collision,as,‘in some cases’,vehicles are being driven on the wrong side of motorways for online views and likes.
The incident also injured three women and a child (Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire)Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said in a statement: ‘My thoughts are with those injured in this morning’s collision on the M9.‘These family members were travelling innocently when they were struck by a vehicle being driven the wrong way down the motorway.‘This horrific incident,following the recent collision on the M50,shows how irresponsible and dangerous driving on the wrong side of the motorway is.‘That,of course,should be self-evident,but 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 he is ‘constrained’ by what details he can go into at present,since the incident is being investigated.However,he praised Gardaí for doing ‘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. As always,An Garda Síochána will fully cooperate with the Police Ombudsman investigation,which I hope is completed as expeditiously as possible.’He then sent his thoughts to the emergency responders who ‘had to deal with this awful incident this morning’.The crash was referred to Fiosrú,the independent policing watchdog in Ireland.A spokesperson 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.’Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at .For more stories like this,check our news page.
