Five teenagers have died and four other people have been seriously injured in a crash involving a car driving in the wrong direction on a motorway in Ireland, police have said.
Gardaí confirmed the bodies of the youths, all male, had been removed from the scene of the two-vehicle collision, which happened in the early hours of Sunday on the M۹ in County Kildare.
The force said the occupants of the second vehicle involved, three women, two in their ۳۰s and one in her ۲۰s, and a boy, all remained in hospital with serious injuries.
Garda commissioner Justin Kelly described the head-on collision between the two cars as “horrific” and said “in some cases” vehicles were being driven on the wrong side of motorways for social media likes.
Last weekend, nine people were injured in a head-on collision on the M۵۰ in Dublin involving a car travelling in the wrong direction.
Describing Sunday’s crash, Kelly said: “These family members were travelling innocently when they were struck by a vehicle being driven the wrong way down the motorway.
“This horrific incident, after the recent collision on the M۵۰, 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.”
He added: “As this particular incident has been referred to Fiosrú, the police ombudsman, I am constrained in what I can say in detail about this incident, but I know that gardaí do what they can to stop such vehicles while also taking into consideration all other road users.
“Gardaí are put in a really challenging situation dealing with such incidents.”
Officers are investigating the circumstances of the crash, which happened at junction ۳ of the motorway, near Athy, at about ۳am on Sunday.
It came after emergency services were alerted to reports of a vehicle travelling southbound on the M۹ northbound carriageway.
Earlier, a gardaí spokesperson said the female driver and front-seat passenger of the second car had been taken to Tallaght university hospital, and both were in a critical condition.
A female rear-seat passenger, in her ۲۰s, was taken to St Luke’s general hospital in a serious condition.
The third passenger, a child, was taken to the Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin in Dublin, also in a serious condition.
The bodies of the teenagers who died were taken to Naas general hospital, where postmortem examinations were due to take place.
Gardaí are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the collision or had dashcam footage to come forward.
