Tusla said Joe Carthy was among five teenagers killed in the head-on crash on the M9 Northbound at Junction 3 in County Kildare at about 03:00 local time on Sunday. Gardaí had been told to disengage after trying several times to stop a car that was driving the wrong way on the motorway.
Two women are in a critical condition after the collision, while another woman and a seven-year-old boy are seriously injured. St Michael's Boxing Club in Athy said it was deeply saddened to learn of Carthy's death.
Tara McManus on the pursuit
Tara McManus, the Assistant General Secretary of the Garda Representative Association, said roads policing officers do not have pursuit training. She said officers had attempted to interact with the teenagers and bring the vehicle to a stop on several occasions before they were given a command to disengage after evasive action.
The collision was the second within days involving a car being driven in the wrong direction on a motorway in the Republic of Ireland. That sequence has pushed the focus onto how quickly road-policing officers can intervene when a vehicle enters a motorway the wrong way and how they are expected to end an attempt once a disengage order is given.
Jim O'Callaghan and pursuit training
Jim O'Callaghan said the head of the gardaí would introduce pursuit training this year. The timing leaves the crash not only as a fatal collision but also as the event that has put training on the immediate police agenda.
Micheál Martin said reckless driving is being done for likes on social media “in some cases it is being done for likes on social media”.
Coimisiún na Meán and TikTok
On Tuesday, Coimisiún na Meán said it had asked TikTok to outline how it responded to risky and reckless driving content on its platform. Jeremy Godfrey said the regulator will assess whether TikTok is in breach of its obligations and can take “enforcement action” if it is.
Godfrey also said content showing dangerous driving is “clearly very damaging”.
