Emilia Pustkowska says she begged a judge to jail her son weeks before he died in the M9 wrong-way crash.
Pustkowska, from Limerick, told the Irish Mail that her son Kamil Pustkowski, 17, had pleaded guilty to car offences but was never taken into custody despite her repeated pleas. The mother said she attended court with him on multiple occasions across Limerick and Dublin as cases were continually postponed.
“Every single court case I was there,” she said.
“I was three times in Limerick. I was five times in Dublin. Not because there was something new happening… it was always postponed.”
Pustkowska said her son’s behaviour had only become an issue in recent months, with gardaà first contacting her about possible car offences in January 2025, but told the publication that things “snowballed” from there. She said that despite Kamil pleading guilty to some offences, two cases scheduled for last month were adjourned and he remained free.
“He pleaded guilty, that’s the thing. He didn’t pretend… he said yes,” she explained.
The mother then described her direct appeal to the judge to imprison her son.
“I said to that judge, ‘I can’t keep him at home,'” she said.
“That’s the thing. For two years I’m living as a prisoner because I have locked everything.”
Pustkowska continued: “Nobody listened to me. Do you believe I wanted my child in the prison? But if you see what’s going on, you have to find different solutions.”
She added: “At least, if he was in the prison, maybe he will have time to mature. Probably then someone else would have been sitting in the car.”
“That’s not any better. But at least that wouldn’t be Kamil,” she said.
Pustkowska also spoke out in defence of her son against claims that he was the “leader” of the group of teens who died in the crash. She rejected the characterisation forcefully.
“I know he wasn’t [the leader]. He wasn’t able to lead himself. So how was he the leader? We know that. He was lost… not the leader,” she told the Irish Mail.
The mother also addressed the public backlash she has faced since the crash, saying she felt unable to express remorse to the family in the other vehicle. “Because the people will eat you,” she said.
Margaret Berry, the mother of fellow victim Jeremy O’Brien, 18, did issue an apology to the sisters injured in the other car. Speaking to The Sun, Berry lamented her son’s actions and expressed her sorrow.
“I wish my son had never got into that car,” she said.
“My heart goes out to this poor family and if I could see them I would apologise. I have said prayers for them and I hope to God that they can heal.”
Berry added: “This tragedy should never have happened. I am not proud of what happened and I don’t condone what they did. I wish my son had never got into that car.”
“I also hope one day that the Âfamily who remain in hospital can find some kind of forgiveness some day. I will continue to pray for them,” she continued.
“My son and those other boys didn’t set out that night to Âintentionally hurt people and my heart will always break for everyone who’s involved in this nightmare,” Berry said.
In the viral moment that prompted widespread coverage, Kamil Pustkowski, 17, Jack Kennedy, 17, Jeremy O’Brien, 18, Joe Carthy, 15, and Alex McCarthy, 16, were all killed on 16 August when the BMW they were travelling in drove the wrong way down the M9 motorway in County Kildare and collided head-on with another vehicle. Sisters Niamh and Alma Kinsella, Ella Hendricken, and Alma’s seven-year-old son Yemi were in the other car and sustained serious injuries. The group was reportedly heading to Dublin airport to fly to the UK for a family wedding at the time of the crash. A GoFundMe for the injured family has raised €754,716 (£646,966) so far, with a friend recently revealing they face a “long, long recovery ahead of them.”