Three sisters from Carlow remain in critical condition with catastrophic injuries after a black BMW drove the wrong way down Ireland’s M9 motorway and slammed into their family car.
Alma Kinsella, Niamh Kinsella, both in their 30s, and their sister Ella Hendricken, aged in her 20s, were travelling with a seven-year-old boy to Dublin Airport when the head-on collision occurred near Kilcullen, Co Kildare, at around 3am on Sunday, August 16. All four family members were seriously injured and rushed to hospital, where the three sisters remain in critical condition.
The sisters were heading to catch a flight for a wedding in Dublin when their Hyundai was struck by the BMW, which had been speeding down the motorway in the wrong direction. The young boy suffered leg injuries in the devastating impact.
The five teenage occupants of the BMW — Jeremy O’Brien, 18, Alex McCarthy, 17, Joey Carthy, 15, Jack Kennedy, 17, and Kamil Pustkowski, 17 — all died at the scene. Gardaà initially believed the vehicle had been stolen, though the circumstances of how the teens came to be in the car remain under investigation.
Margaret O’Brien, Jeremy’s mother, posted a heartbreaking tribute on social media following the confirmation of her son’s death.
“Rest in heavenly peace, my beautiful son. Things will never be the same without you. You took a piece of my heart to heaven with you,” she wrote.
“It was such a privilege to be your mother. I am so proud of you.”
A separate post paying tribute to Joey Carthy, 15, the youngest victim, lamented his lost potential.
“Why did it have to be you of all people? You would never see a bad bone in his body. He really was going to make something when he grew up,” the tribute read.
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly addressed the crash on Sunday, condemning the dangerous driving that led to the tragedy while noting the investigation had been referred to Fiosrú, the Police Ombudsman.
“My thoughts are with those injured in this morning’s collision on the M9. These family members were travelling innocently when they were struck by a vehicle being driven the wrong way down the motorway,” Kelly said.
“This horrific incident, following the recent collision on the M50, shows how irresponsible and dangerous driving on the wrong side of the motorway is.”
Kelly continued: “That, of course, should be self-evident, but what makes this reckless behaviour even more appalling is that in some cases it is being done for social media likes regardless of the potentially devastating impact it might have on innocent people and themselves.”
Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin also weighed in, calling the crash “an irresponsible and dangerous act” and linking it to a disturbing trend of life-threatening driving performed for online attention.
The incident came just days after another serious wrong-way collision on the M50 motorway in Dublin, prompting renewed calls for action against drivers who use Ireland’s roads as venues for social media stunts.
In the viral moment that preceded the fatal crash, officers in a patrol car had spotted the black BMW at around 2am and requested it to stop, but the driver sped away. Gardaà did not pursue the vehicle the wrong way down the motorway due to safety protocols designed to prevent head-on collisions with oncoming traffic. The BMW then executed a U-turn, pulled into a service station in the Kilcullen area, and subsequently headed south on the northbound carriageway before striking the family’s Hyundai. The incident has been referred to Fiosrú for independent investigation, though a referral does not indicate any wrongdoing by Garda officers.
Police continue to appeal for witnesses who were travelling on either carriageway of the M9 between 2am and 3am on Sunday, particularly motorists with dashcam footage. DNA testing is expected to be required before the five deceased teenagers can be formally identified.
Gardaà are also investigating whether the crash is linked to a broader pattern of young drivers filming dangerous stunts for social media platforms, with Commissioner Kelly noting that officers face “a really challenging situation” when attempting to stop such vehicles while protecting other road users.