The M9 crash in County Kildare has left several people dead and others, including children, seriously injured after a head-on collision involving two cars early Sunday.
According to Gardaí, one of the vehicles was traveling the wrong way on the M9 northbound when the collision occurred near junction 3 at about 3 a.m. Emergency services had been alerted to a car heading southbound on the northbound carriageway between junctions 3 and 4, where it subsequently struck another car head-on.
A Garda spokesperson said that a number of fatalities have been confirmed, and that no further details are available at this stage.
The female driver and a front-seat passenger, both in their 30s from the second car, were taken to Tallaght University Hospital and remain in critical condition, Gardaí said. A female rear-seat passenger in her 20s was brought to St Luke’s General Hospital and is in serious condition. A child who was also in the car was transferred to Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin and is in a serious condition.
The M9 between junctions 3 and 4 is closed in both directions, with diversions in place. A Garda forensic collision examination is scheduled.
Appeal for witnesses to M9 crash
Gardaí are appealing to anyone who witnessed the collision to come forward.
Fiosrú, the Office of the Police Ombudsman, has been notified. In a statement, the office said the referral followed a fatal road traffic incident on the M9, and that one of its on-call investigators attended the scene. The office said an independent investigation is under way in line with its statutory remit to examine incidents involving contact with Gardaí where a member of the public has died or been seriously injured.
The office said an independent investigation is under way in line with its statutory remit to examine incidents involving contact with Gardaí where a member of the public has died or been seriously injured, similar to other recent incidents where a death has prompted intense official scrutiny.