Gardaí acted appropriately prior to fatal crash on M9, ombudsman says
Five teenagers were killed in the incident in August.
Gardaí who followed a car before a head-on collision in which five teenagers died, acted appropriately, a watchdog investigation has found.
A child and three women from the same family were also seriously injured in the crash on the M9 in Co Kildare last month when they were hit by the car being driven by the five youths which was travelling in the wrong direction.
Police Ombudsman Fiosrú, said Gardaí “acted in accordance with the law as well as relevant garda policies and procedures”.
Fiosrú said Gardaí had been following the car in which the five teenagers were travelling on the N78 in Athy for a short period prior to it joining the M9 motorway against the direction of traffic in the early hours of August 16.
The investigation examined evidence related to the actions and decisions of Gardaí during their interactions with the car, including the nature and extent of contact prior to the collision.
Investigators obtained and reviewed CCTV and radio transmissions, and received a briefing from the forensic collision investigator.
Fiosrú established that on the day of the collision, Gardaí had pursued a BMW car. It said that permission to continue the pursuit was granted by the garda control room.
After the BMW entered the M9 dual carriageway, the garda vehicle terminated its pursuit and the control room confirmed that the pursuit should not continue.
The report said other garda units attempted to place a stopping device but the BMW undertook a number of U-turns, before fatally colliding with an oncoming car.
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly has welcomed the Fiosrú finding.
"I have previously highlighted the really challenging situation members of An Garda Síochána are put in dealing with such incidents as Gardaí do what they can to stop such vehicles while also taking into consideration all other road users.
"I have also spoken publicly about the need for increased statutory protections for Gardaí when driving as part of their duty to keep people safe.”
Speaking earlier this week at the Ploughing Championships, Commissioner Kelly said, "The members of An Garda Síochána that were there at the M9, we are providing with all the supports that we can.
“They obviously all remain fully on duty, all those members. I want publicly just to thank all the guards who worked around that horrendous incident that night dealing with, obviously a really difficult scene, and even what happened before that.
"It's really important that I as Commissioner support the members of An Garda Síochána who are out there every night, when lots of us are asleep in our beds, they're out there every night and they're working hard to keep all our community safe. So it's really important as I say that I support them.
"The Fiosrú investigation, it has to run its course, and we obviously wait to see what the outcome of that will be, obviously as Garda Commissioner I certainly hope you know that all our members who were involved in that will be exonerated.”
Following the M9 crash, the capability of Gardaí to pursue vehicles in dangerous circumstances has come under increased scrutiny.
Three sisters who were seriously injured in the crash, Ella Hendricken, Niamh Kinsella and Alma Kinsella, have since said they are “getting stronger” every day.
They were with a young boy on the way to Dublin Airport for a holiday when the collision occurred.
The funerals of the five teenagers who died – Joe Carthy, Jack Kennedy, Alex McCarthy, Jeremy O’Brien, and Kamil Pustkowski – took place in the days after the crash.