Cops told not to engage with car before M9 crash that killed 5 teens as gangs ‘speed wrong way down motorways for likes’

GANGS of young teenage boys are “trying to outdo each other” on social media with videos of them being chased by gardai and speeding the wrong way down motorways. The Garda Representative Association said cops were told not to engage with a BMW that drove down the wrong side of the M9 motorway at Moone in Kildare before smashing into another car yesterday. The scene on the M9 northbound at Junction 3 in Co Kildare Credit: Niall Carson/PA Wire Five teenage boys were killed in the horrific wrong-way crash Credit: Niall Carson/PA Wire Four teenage boys were pronounced dead at the scene of the horrific head-on crash with a Hyundai, with gardai later locating the body of a fifth occupant at the scene. Post-mortem examinations are due to take place on the boys at Naas General Hospital. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! It’s understood the BMW, which cops suspect was stolen, had earlier failed to stop for Gardai and entered the motorway in the wrong direction. The driver of the Hyundai, 40, and her front seat passenger, 30s, remain in a critical condition at Tallaght Hospital, with a seven-year-old boy and a woman in her 20s, who were in the back seats, in serious condition in hospital. Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly described the head-on collision as ‘horrific’ Credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire Detectives are trawling through social media videos to establish if any videos of the BMW car involved in the M9 crash had been posted Credit: Niall Carson/PA Wire The Garda Representative Association (GRA) said today its members were “all in shock” after the “horrific incident”. GRA vice-president John Joe O’Connell said this morning: “This involved a stolen BMW that drove – trying to evade gardai – drove the wrong way down the M9 and then a head-on collision occurred with this car of a family heading to Dublin Airport on holidays for a few days.” O’Connell said the BMW had earlier failed to stop for gardai and that it was his understanding that an instruction was given not to engage with the vehicle as it travelled the wrong way down the M9. Asked if this was standard procedure, he told RTE’s Morning Ireland: “It would be standard practice, and the command and control centre would be dictating what happens in a live environment – but the members in the cars have to make a split-second decision.” Most read in The Sun O’Connell said there were “numerous gangs” of boys and young men “trying to outdo each other” in social media videos depicting interactions with Gardai, pursuits and wrong-way driving. He added: “Our members are not going to follow down that route – we’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t, that way.” O’Connell said gardai have been dealing with incidents involving cars driving in the wrong direction in an attempt to evade arrest since 2021, adding that there has been “copycat incidents” over the last number of years. He continued: “There’s been copycat incidents since then of cars trying to evade gardaí going the wrong way down motorways and dual carriageways. “From our perspective, on how do we deal with this, I don’t know what the exact answer is, but there’s not one garda member trained in pursuit, never mind in dealing with cars going down the wrong way.” O’Connell said gardai also face internal sanctions, discipline and possible criminal offences when they decide to engage in pursuits. He said cops cannot activate blue lights and sirens as part of a non-compliant stop. And he pointed out that garda cars have been rammed by stolen vehicles. A patrol car was rammed by a stolen vehicle in the early hours of yesterday morning after gardai responded to reports of dangerous driving on Dublin‘s M50 motorway. Gardai came across the stolen car at Glencairn Drive in The Gallops and signalled for the vehicle to stop before it rammed the patrol vehicle. On Wednesday, a garda’s life “flashed before his eyes” after the vehicle he and his colleague were in was rammed by a stolen Audi and flipped on to its roof. The shocking incident happened after midnight in Finglas, northwest Dublin. Last weekend, eight teenagers and a man in his 20s were injured after a stolen car, carrying the teens, travelled the wrong way down an exit ramp onto Dublin’s M50 before ploughing into another car. Apprentice electrician Craig, 22, was seriously injured in the horror after the stolen car smashed into his vehicle. O’Connell said there was a need to “look at the sentences” when these cases come before the courts, as he criticised those partaking in wrong-way driving as “playing Russian roulette with their lives and everyone else’s lives”. He urged parents to talk to their sons about the potential consequences if they get into a stolen car “for the craic and the clicks”. Detectives are trawling through social media videos to establish if any videos of the BMW car involved in the M9 crash had been posted before the fatal collision. And The Irish Sun understands a number of concerned parents contacted Gardai yesterday after failing to establish the whereabouts of their teenage children. Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly described the head-on collision as “horrific”. He said: “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. “This horrific incident, following the recent collision on the M50, shows how irresponsible and dangerous driving on the wrong-side of the motorway is. “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. “As this particular incident has been referred to Fiosru, the Police Ombudsman, I am constrained in what I can say in detail about this incident, but I know that Gardai do what they can to stop such vehicles while also taking into consideration all other road users. Gardai are put in a really challenging situation dealing with such incidents.” Gardai have urged anyone with information to come forward.