Two of five teens killed in M9 wrong-way crash quizzed over biker hit-&-run as group’s spate of suspected crimes exposed

THE suspected criminal exploits of the five teens killed as their BMW hit a family’s car head-on on the M9 on Sunday are today revealed for the first time.

Sisters Niamh and Alma Kinsella, both in their 30s, and sibling Ella Hendricken, 20s, plus Alma’s son Yemi, seven, continue to fight for their lives in hospital.

The Irish Sun exposes how the teenagers who caused their horrific injuries in the Co Kildare smash were suspects in recent crimes.

Although there has been no official confirmation of their identities, those who died in the collision have been named locally as Joey Carthy, 15, Alex McCarthy, Jack Kennedy, Kamil Pustkowski, all aged 17, and Jeremy O’Brien, 18.

Carthy and Kennedy were from Athy, while McCarthy and O’Brien were from Carlow.

Their pal Pustkowski was from Limerick.

The final post-mortem on their remains is due to be held today.

Just last month, both Carthy and McCarthy were quizzed by Gardai over a hit-and-run in Carlow on July 8, when motorcyclist Jackson Singh was hit by a stolen black Ford Ranger pick-up.

A special GoFundMe page has been set up for the biker after he suffered serious injuries.

It says: “Jackson survived due to wearing full protective motorbike gear. He is facing a long and difficult road ahead.

“He and his family have already endured tremendous pain, emergency medical care and the emotional trauma that comes with such a senseless act.”

Following the M9 crash in the early hours of Sunday, footage of the hit-and-run last month was also shared on social media.

At the time of their deaths, the two teenagers had not faced any charges over the hit-and-run.

Both Carthy and McCarthy were questioned about the incident along with a number of other teenagers and the investigation is ongoing.

Before their deaths, the pair were also suspects in a spate of car break-ins across Carlow and Kildare.

They have also been linked to intimidating local people in Carlow town and were known for large rings on their middle fingers.

A source said: “The motorcyclist who was hit is lucky to be alive. The pair of teens were arrested over this incident and the investigation is still ongoing.

“They both wore large rings because they believed it gave them special status among their peers.”

As part of our revelations on the teen crash victims, we also outline how Jack Kennedy was suspected of driving the wrong way on the M50.

On June 3, he failed to stop for Gardai and drove into oncoming traffic at Junction 12.

Gardai also suspect he drove for 10km and came off at Junction 16 before driving into oncoming traffic a SECOND time.

Kennedy was later arrested by Gardai on suspicion of unauthorised taking of a vehicle, along with five other males.

He had not faced any charges as the investigation was ongoing.

The eldest member of the group who died last week, Jeremy O’Brien, was also a target for Gardai in Carlow and Tipperary.

We can reveal he was a suspect over a dangerous driving incident in April in which motorists had a lucky escape on the outskirts of the town.

Like his associates, he had not been charged with the offences he was under investigation for.

One source added: “Kennedy and O’Brien were very close and were suspected of car theft. They would also post a lot online and were well known to Gardai.

“Kennedy was in a car that drove the wrong way on a motorway before, so this type of dangerous driving wasn’t new to him.”

In the hours before last weekend’s horror smash, Gardai are also investigating if they tried to break into any cars in Athy before driving on the wrong side of the road at 3.04am.

As investigations into the crash continue, we can also reveal that Kamil Pustkowski had also come to the attention of gardai.

He posted videos of himself in what gardai believe were stolen cars and vans.

The teenager, from Limerick, was also identified by Gardai of posing with tools which could be used to steal cars.

Another source added: “He had been coming to the attention of Gardai in Limerick in recent months and was being investigated out of concern that he may have been trying to copy the actions of individuals involved in car theft.”

Our revelations come as the funeral notice for one of the teens killed in Sunday’s smash, Joe Carthy, was removed from RIP.ie.

The notice had gone up on the funeral website on Monday, but was removed several hours later.

The owners of RIP.ie don’t comment on individual funeral notices, but it’s believed offensive messages may have been posted in the condolences section.

Meanwhile, the media regulator, Coimisiun na Mean, says it has asked social media platform TikTok for a “full account” of what measures it has taken over hosting risky and reckless driving content on its platform.

Executive chairperson Jeremy Godfrey said the media regulator will investigate if TikTok is in breach of its obligations.

Mr Godfrey said he expects an initial response from it before the end of today, adding: “We’ve been in touch with TikTok, we’ve asked them for a full account of what they’ve seen on their platform, how they dealt with it, and when we will have that account — which we expect to get an initial response on by the end of today.

We will assess whether they (TikTok) appear to be in breach of any of their obligations. If they are, we can take things further with investigations and enforcement action.”

TikTok insists it was removing videos and accounts that break its rules, and added it was closely monitoring the site for videos or content relating to the M9 smash.

The company also said it removes content that glorifies violence or promotes crimes that could harm people — including risky driving.

TikTok also said that between January and March this year, of the content it removed for violating its policies on violent and criminal behaviour, 99.1 per cent was taken down before it had been reported to the platform.

A GoFundMe has meanwhile been set up for the three sisters who were seriously injured in the horror road crash which claimed five lives.

The fundraiser was launched by Bryan, who said he was setting it up for his best friend Ella and her sisters Niamh and Alma following the devastating collision.

More than €83,000 has already been raised, with all funds going directly to the family.

To donate, click the link HERE.