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Irish teens killed in crash after posting videos of police evasion
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ท Croatia /Crime & Justice

Irish teens killed in crash after posting videos of police evasion

From Veฤernji List · () Croatian

Translated from Croatian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Five teenagers died when their stolen BMW crashed into another vehicle on an Irish highway.
  • The teenagers, aged 15-18, were allegedly involved in a crime spree including car thefts and burglaries in the weeks prior.
  • They had posted videos of dangerous driving and evading police on social media shortly before the fatal crash.

Five teenagers, aged 15 to 18, died after the stolen BMW they were traveling in collided with another car on Ireland's M9 motorway. The group had reportedly been terrorizing local communities for two weeks prior, engaging in car thefts and burglaries.

Wrong way.

โ€” UnknownA caption accompanying a social media video showing police lights in the rearview mirror.

The victims have been identified as Joey Carthy, Alex McCarthy, Jeremy O'Brien, Jack Kennedy, and Kamil Pustkowski. The collision occurred Sunday morning in County Kildare. The BMW they were in was stolen earlier that night and had been spotted in various locations around Kildare before the crash. Police believe this group was responsible for multiple car thefts and burglaries in the Kildare and Carlow areas.

This is sick good footage, boys.

โ€” Kamil PustkowskiKamil Pustkowski's comment on a TikTok video depicting a police chase.

In the days leading up to the fatal accident, the teenagers frequently posted videos on social media showing them evading Irish police, known as Garda. One video, captioned "Wrong way," showed a police car's flashing blue lights in the rearview mirror. Another TikTok video featured Kamil Pustkowski exclaiming "This is sick good footage, boys" while trying to escape police, with the caption "They crashed, get up. Cupra got away." Other posts included footage of the speedometer rising rapidly and images of marijuana use and masked individuals.

They crashed, get up. Cupra got away.

โ€” UnknownA caption on a social media video related to a police chase.

Irish Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan warned that criminals driving the wrong way on highways would "end up in prison or in a grave." He is considering new legislation to specifically criminalize wrong-way driving on motorways and announced specialized police training for pursuits. Jack Kennedy had also posted photos of tools used for stealing vehicles.

will end up in prison or in a grave.

โ€” Jim O'CallaghanIrish Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan's warning to criminals driving the wrong way on highways.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Veฤernji List in Croatian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.