Five teens killed in wrong-way motorway crash named as Govt make ‘threat to public safety’ response vow & locals ‘numb’

THE Justice Minister has insisted that gardai will get ‘whatever resources’ they need to “respond to this threat to public safety” as five teens killed in the horror M9 motorway crash have been named locally.

Kamil Pustowski, 17, from Limerick, Jeremy O’Brien, 18, and Alex McCarthy, 17, both from Carlow, and Jack Kennedy, 17, and Joe Carthy, 15, both from Athy in Kildare died in the horrific head-on crash.

Three women and seven-year-old boy travelling in the other car were seriously injured in the horrific crash, with the front occupants of the vehicle fighting for their lives in hospital.

The five teens were in a BMW car driving the wrong way down the M9 in Co Kildare when they ploughed into another vehicle heading to Dublin Airport at around 3am yesterday.

The BMW, which had earlier failed to stop for gardai, smashed into the Hyundai after entering the motorway and its five occupants, who were from the Carlow and Kildare areas, were killed.

The driver of the Hyundai, 40, and her front seat passenger, 30s, remain in a critical condition at Tallaght Hospital.

A seven-year-old boy and a woman in her 20s, who were in the back seats of the car, are in a serious condition in hospital.

All four are from the Carlow area and were on their way to Dublin Airport for a holiday when the horrific crash took place between junctions three and four.

Gardai have since established that the BMW involved in the crash wasn’t stolen.

They believe it may have been sold for cash by its innocent owner to an associate of the teenager.

The bodies of the teenage boys were removed from the wreckage last night after Garda Forensic Officers completed an examination of the scene.

Post-mortem examinations are due to be carried out on the boys at Naas General Hospital today.

Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has said that gardai “will have whatever resources they require from Government in order to respond to this threat to public safety.”

He condemned the “reckless” driving that caused the M9 crash as “outrageously dangerous criminal behaviour”.

Addressing journalists, he condemned “in the strongest possible terms that reckless criminal behaviour”, which he said inflicted “serious injuries on a family that were lawfully using the M9”.

He said that driving the wrong way down a motorway is “lethally dangerous”, adding “it must stop”.

The Minister has spoken to the Garda Commissioner today.

A priest in Carlow who had been speaking to affected families said there is an atmosphere of “sadness” and “disbelief” in the area, while also “hope” for those who have been hurt.

Fr Tom Little told RTE’s News at One: “It makes us realise, too, the danger of the roads and the need to be careful.”

Meanwhile, a local school principal in Carlow said the town is “numb”.

St Joseph’s National School principal and Fine Gael councillor Fergal Browne told the same programme: “There’s a huge range of emotions.

“This is a tragedy on so many levels and it’s going to take a long time to recover from.

Mr Browne said people deal with the mix of anger and sorrow by drawing on their faith and he complimented the work of local priests in the community.

He also complimented the emergency services for dealing with the aftermath of the crash, saying: “I hope they get the supports they deserve as well.”

“People are thinking of the family who were involved in the crash on the way to the airport, and everyone is hoping, they’ll make full recoveries and obviously the families of the people who passed away are grieving and they’ve a long difficult journey ahead of them as well.”

A body representing rank-and-file members of An Garda Siochana today said an instruction had been given not to pursue the vehicle the wrong way down the motorway.

The Garda Representative Association said its members were “all in shock” after the “horrific incident”.

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly described the head-on collision between junctions 3 and 4 as “horrific” and warned that “in some cases” vehicles are being driven on the wrong side of motorways for social media likes.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin described the crash as being the result of “an irresponsible and dangerous act”.

He added: “My thoughts and prayers are with the family who have been injured. I wish them a full recovery.

“The lives of five teenagers have also been lost as a result.

“Every death on our roads brings untold grief to families and communities.

“There can be no tolerance for this reckless behaviour that we have seen on our roads recently. It must stop.”