Extra: Horror M9 crash and social media trend gardaí seem powerless to stop

The five teenage boys killed in a horror crash when their car was driven the wrong way on the M9 motorway were all aged between 15 and 18 years of age.

Post-mortem examinations will now be carried out on the bodies of Joey Carthy (15) and Jack Kennedy (17) from Athy, Co Kildare; Alex McCarthy (17) and his cousin Jeremy O’Brien (18) from Carlow; and Kamil Pustkowski (17) from Limerick.

The teenagers, including some members of the so-called Lucky Dip gang, were killed when the stolen BMW car they were driving sped the wrong way down the M9 motorway and ploughed head-on into another vehicle.

Three women and a seven-year-old boy who were travelling in the other Hyundai vehicle were hospitalised with injuries ranging from serious to critical following the early-morning smash on Sunday.

The women and child were on their way to Dublin Airport at the time of the crash which occurred shortly after 3am near Moone, Co Kildare, on the northbound lane.

Gardaí believe that the five juveniles were travelling in a suspected stolen BMW and are alleged to have been involved in a burglary and attempted break-ins in Carlow and Athy, Co Kildare, before the fatal smash.

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