Five Teenagers Killed in Horror M9 Crash Near Athy as Family of Four Seriously Injured
Kildare: Five teenagers have died, and four members of a family were seriously injured following a devastating head-on collision on the M9 motorway near Athy in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The crash occurred at around 3am, when a BMW carrying the five teenagers was travelling in the wrong direction on the motorway and collided with a Hyundai travelling legally in the opposite direction.
BMW had earlier come to Garda attention
The incident began around 2am, when Gardaí received reports of a group of young people allegedly attempting to break into homes and parked vehicles in the Athy area.
During their enquiries, Gardaí encountered a black BMW and attempted to stop it. The vehicle allegedly failed to stop and drove away at high speed.
Investigators are examining whether the BMW subsequently entered the M9 in the wrong direction while attempting to evade Gardaí. However, it has not been established that a Garda vehicle was continuously following the BMW, and current information indicates that Gardaí were not pursuing the vehicle at the time of the collision.
The BMW initially travelled in the wrong direction before leaving the motorway and reaching a service area in Kilcullen. It later returned to the M9 and began travelling southbound on the northbound carriageway.
The Gardaí made preparations at an interchange and tried to bring the vehicle to a stop. A tyre-deflation device was deployed in anticipation that the BMW might leave the motorway, but the vehicle continued travelling in the wrong direction.
Five teenagers killed
The BMW eventually collided head-on with a Hyundai carrying four members of a family.
The impact completely destroyed the BMW. All five teenagers travelling in the vehicle were killed.
Emergency responders initially believed four people had died, but the body of a fifth teenager was discovered as the wreckage was removed. Investigators also established that one person had been thrown from the vehicle during the collision.
The bodies of the five teenagers have been taken to Naas General Hospital, where postmortems will be carried out.
Family was travelling to Dublin Airport
The occupants of the Hyundai were three sisters from Carlow and the seven-year-old son of one of them. They had been travelling to Dublin Airport to attend a family wedding in Britain.
The woman in her 30s who was driving and her sister, who was travelling in the front passenger seat, were taken to hospital with critical injuries. The third sister and the seven-year-old boy were also taken to hospital and are being treated for serious injuries.
Independent investigation into Garda contact
Gardaí are investigating whether the BMW had been stolen and whether those inside the vehicle were connected to the reported incidents involving attempted break-ins in the Athy area. It has also emerged that some of the teenagers may have had their faces covered.
Because there had been Garda contact with the BMW before the collision, the matter has been referred to Fiosrú, the independent police oversight body. Its investigation will examine the circumstances surrounding the Garda interaction and whether any Garda actions had a bearing on the subsequent events.
The tragedy comes amid wider concerns about dangerous wrong-way driving on Irish motorways. Authorities have warned that some motorists engage in extremely dangerous behaviour, either to evade Gardaí or, in some cases, to record footage for social media, creating a serious risk to other road users.
The identities and nationalities of the five teenagers have not yet been officially released. Gardaí have indicated that they were from the Kildare and Carlow areas.
As a result, claims circulating on social media about their nationality or background cannot currently be treated as confirmed information.
The investigation will now focus on establishing the precise sequence of events—from the BMW first coming to Garda attention in Athy to its subsequent movements on the M9 and the fatal collision.
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