Michael O'Toole

Five teenagers aged 15 to 18—Jeremy O'Brien, Alex McCarthy, Joey Carthy, Jack Kennedy and Kamil Pustkowski—died after a high-powered BMW was driven the wrong way on Ireland's M9 motorway. Three women and a seven-year-old child were also badly injured. Family members and friends paid tribute to the victims, while Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly condemned wrong-way driving and warned that some motorists may undertake such dangerous acts to gain social-media attention.

Five teenagers—Jeremy O’Brien, Alex McCarthy, Joey Carthy, Jack Kennedy and Kamil Pustkowski—were killed when their BMW travelled the wrong way on Ireland’s M9 and collided head-on with a Hyundai carrying a family of four. The family members remained seriously or critically injured, including a seven-year-old boy being treated in hospital. Gardaí determined that the BMW had been legitimately purchased rather than stolen, while Fiosrú examined police contact with the vehicle before the crash. The deaths prompted debate over police pursuit procedures, road-safety enforcement and dangerous driving filmed for social media. Taoiseach Micheál Martin condemned the incident as reckless and irresponsible.