Update on three sisters injured in M9 wrong-way car crash

An update has been shared on the GoFundMe set up to support three sisters who were seriously injured in a motorway crash in Ireland.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that five teenagers had died after driving a BMW down the wrong way on the M9 motorway near Moone, Co Kildare, in the early hours of Sunday (16 August), when it collided with a Hyundai. The teenagers were later identified as Jeremy O'Brien, 18, Alex McCarthy, 17, Joey Carthy, 15, Jack Kennedy, 17, and Kamil Pustkowski, 17.

The people in the other car were later identified as sisters Niamh and Alma Kinsella, and Ella Hendricken, who are said to have suffered 'catastrophic' injuries from the collision.

(PA)

According to reports from The Journal, the sisters were accompanied by a seven-year-old boy, who has not been publicly identified. He is said to have suffered injuries to his legs.

The group were said to have been travelling to Dublin Airport in order to travel to the UK for a family wedding when the crash happened.

Fundraiser set up to support sisters injured in collision

A friend of Ella has now set up a fundraiser to support the siblings as they recover from Sunday's crash, which included an update on their condition.

"This has been an incredibly difficult and frightening time for Ella, Niamh, Alma and their family," wrote friend Brian Curley, who described the nature of the accident as serious.

He did not share any details about the siblings' injuries but revealed the passengers faced a 'long and challenging road ahead' in terms of recovery. "I ask that you keep them all in your thoughts & prayers," he added.

At the time of writing, €277,856 (£237,914) has been raised to support the sisters in their recovery, with Brian writing that all funds will go to the family.

(GoFundMe)

Investigation into crash underway

An investigation into the collision and the events which led up to the horror crash is currently underway, with the Irish Times reporting that gardaí officers had recieved reports of the men allegedly attempting to break into homes and cars in the Athy area earlier that night.

Officers in a patrol car had later requested the black BMW to stop at around 2am on 16 August, but the car sped away and was driving down the motorway in the wrong direction.

The Garda Síochána, Ireland's primary police and security service, did not follow the car onto the motorway due to guidance on the risk of a head-on collision and were instead looking into alternative measures to stop the vehicle.

The teenagers who were killed in the collision (Social media)

Garda Representative Association vice-president John Joe O’Connell has also spoken out about the incident, condemning what he believes was another instance of gangs of boys and young men driving the wrong way on a motorway and filming the results to post on social media, a statement which was echoed by Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

“This is the second appalling crash we’ve seen on our roads in a matter of days as a result of the reckless driving of a car on the wrong side of the motorway, endangering the lives of innocent road users," he said.

"Every death on our roads brings untold grief to families and communities. There can be no tolerance for this reckless behaviour that we have seen on our roads recently.

"It must stop."