Garda watchdog Fiosrú has said that Gardaí who followed a vehicle last month before it devastatingly crashed as deliberately travelled in the wrong direction on the M9 motorway in Co Kildare acted appropriately and in accordance with the law.
The Police Ombudsman, Emily Logan, said that the independent investigation “found that gardaí acted appropriately, within the law, and in line with relevant policies and procedures as determined by the Garda Commissioner.
The five teenagers who were passengers in the BMW that was being followed by Gardaí – Kamil Pustkowski (17), Jack Kennedy (17), Joey Carthy (15), Alex McCarthy (17) and Jeremy O’Brien (18) were all killed in the collision that occurred around 3am on August 16th.
In addition, three women and a child, who were driving on their way to the airport when they were hit head-on by the teenagers’ BMW suffered serious and catastrophic injuries. Alma and Niamh Kinsella, their younger sister Ella Hendricken, a seven-year-old child were all taken to hospital after the collision.
Today Fiosrú said: “Gardaí who followed a vehicle before its involvement in a fatal head-on collision on the M9 motorway in Co Kildare acted in accordance with the law as well as relevant Garda policies and procedures”.
“Gardaí had been following the car on the N78 in Athy for a short period before it joined the M9 motorway against the direction of traffic, where it later collided with an oncoming vehicle,” the Garda watchdog said.
It said that evidence “related to the actions and decisions of gardaí during their interactions with the car” had been examined in the course of the investigation.
“During the course of Fiosrú’s investigation, investigators obtained and reviewed CCTV and radio transmissions and received a briefing from the forensic collision investigator,” it said.
“Fiosrú established that on the day of the fatal collision, gardaí had pursued a BMW car. 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.
“Other Garda units attempted to place a stopping device at an appropriate location, however the BMW undertook a number of U-turns, before fatally colliding with an oncoming car.”
“Fiosrú became involved in the case following a referral by An Garda Síochána, which must alert the agency to any incident where serious injury or death occurs after an interaction with the force. It said the M9 incident was the sixth referral it had received since 2021 relating to the Garda and “vehicles being driven the wrong way on motorways and national roads”, it added.
The Police Ombudsman, Emily Logan, said: “When someone dies in incidents involving contact with gardaí, it is mandatory that the matter is referred by gardaí to Fiosrú to investigate. Our role is to establish and examine the circumstances of what happened. Fiosrú’s independent investigations into referrals of death or serious harm form an important element in the protection of fundamental and human rights in the State.
“Fiosrú’s investigation was independent of gardaí and aimed to understand events leading up to the collision. It found that gardaí acted appropriately, within the law, and in line with relevant policies and procedures as determined by the Garda Commissioner.
“Every death on our roads brings untold grief to families and communities. My thoughts are with family and friends and all those affected by this devastating incident, including the gardaí who attended the scene,” she said.