Five teenagers killed when their stolen BMW ploughed head-on into a family while driving on the wrong side of a motorway had been ‘terrorising’ people over the previous days.
Joey Carthy, Alex McCarthy, Jeremy O’Brien, Jack Kennedy and Kamil Pustkowski, all aged between 15 and 18, died in the collision on the M9, in County Kildare, on Sunday morning.
Speaking soon after the ‘horrific’ crash, Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said that ‘in some cases’ cars were being driven the wrong way down motorways for social media likes.
And it has now emerged the five teens often posted videos of themselves being chased by gardaí, with one clip showing the view in their rear mirror captioned ‘wrong way’.
All five were also suspected in several thefts and burglaries, in addition to further anti-social activities across Kildare and Carlow over the previous two weeks.
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Each was wearing a mask when their bodies were retrieved from the wreckage, the Daily Mail reports.
The newspaper quotes security sources as saying the teenagers were part of an increasing number of youths trying to ‘one up’ each other in dangerous videos posted to social media.
‘These young guys have been terrorising communities for weeks if not longer,’ they added.
‘They did not care if they were caught as they knew they were underage and that there was little the courts system could do with them.
‘It’s becoming a growing social media trend and it’s been a nightmare for gardaí to police because they are often ordered to stand down from pursuits because of the danger that chasing these guys could put the public in.’
Sisters Niamh and Alma Kinsella, both in their 30s, younger sister Ella Hendricken, in her 20s, and Alma’s seven-year-old son Yemi all suffered serious injuries in the other car.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said yesterday he was ‘shocked and saddened’ at the crash, which was the result of ‘an irresponsible and dangerous act’.
He said: ‘This is the second appalling crash we’ve seen on our roads in a matter of days as a result of the reckless driving of a car on the wrong side of the motorway, endangering the lives of innocent road users.
‘As the Garda Commissioner has said, it is an irresponsible and dangerous act and it is shocking in some cases that it is being done for likes on social media.’
Mr Martin 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.’
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