The five teens killed when the BMW they were in collided with another car on the M9 are suspected of being behind a crime spree on the night of the accident.

The male teenagers were wearing balaclavas, or were otherwise masked, when they died on the motorway at about 3am.

Gardaí had reports of males trying to break into houses and cars parked outside homes in Athy, Co Kildare, in the hours before the fatal crash.

Gardaí believe those males spotted in Athy were the same group later killed on the motorway, the Irish Times reports.

Three sisters and a seven-year-old child were travelling to the airport when the teen’s BMW, travelling the wrong way on the motorway, ploughed head-on into their Hyundai.

The three women and a seven-year-old son belonging to one of them, who are from the Carlow town area, were travelling to Dublin Airport for a flight to the UK for an aunt’s wedding.

The child is in a serious condition at Crumlin Hospital in Dublin. Two of the women, in their 30s, were left in a critical condition and brought to Tallaght University Hospital, while another woman, in her 20s, was rushed to St Luke’s General Hospital in Kilkenny.

Speaking on Sunday, Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said, ‘My thoughts are with those injured in this morning’s collision on the M9. These family members were travelling innocently when they were struck by a vehicle being driven the wrong way down the motorway.

‘This horrific incident, following the recent collision on the M50, shows how irresponsible and dangerous driving on the wrong side of the motorway is.

‘That, of course, should be self-evident, but what makes this reckless behaviour even more appalling is that in some cases it is being done for social media likes regardless of the potentially devastating impact it might have on innocent people and themselves.’

Fiosrú, the policing watchdog agency, has launched an investigation.

Family Liaison Officers have been appointed to relatives of the occupants of both vehicles.

Gardaí are appealing for any persons who may have witnessed this collision to come forward.

Gardaí are appealing to road users who were travelling on the M9 northbound or southbound between 2:00 am and 3:00 am this morning, Sunday 16th August, 2026, and who may have dashcam footage of the incident or surrounding area to make this footage available to investigating Gardaí.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Athy Garda Station on 01 666 6000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.