A group of teenagers drove the wrong way into heavy traffic on one of Ireland’s busiest motorways this week after being pursued by gardaí.
Video shared by the alleged joyriders on social media shows their speeding car narrowly avoiding vehicles travelling towards them.
Motorists heading in the opposite direction repeatedly flash their headlights in warning as loud music plays inside the car.
The five boys, believed to be in their mid-teens, were first pursued by gardaí through Leixlip village in Co. Kildare before allegedly entering the busy M4 motorway and driving against the traffic in darkness.
Drivers were forced to swerve and change lanes to avoid a potentially fatal head-on crash.
The disturbing episode took place this week, less than two months after the devastating M9 motorway collision that claimed the lives of five teenagers.
Three women and a seven-year-old boy in another vehicle were also seriously injured when their car was struck by a vehicle travelling the wrong way on the M9.
The latest incident was filmed by the group and uploaded to TikTok, with footage showing them speeding through Leixlip on Tuesday evening.
The video opens with a Garda van making a U-turn before setting off after the car.
The latest TikTok footage shows the teenagers recording themselves as they speed through Leixlip on Tuesday evening while gardaí pursue them
As the Garda vehicle follows, the teenagers can be heard saying, “Keep it cool, yeah.”
One passenger says “smoked, smoked” as the car overtakes other vehicles on the road.
“That’s it boys, we’re done,” another voice says while the gardaí remain close behind.
“Look behind, it’s Garda… you thought he was messing with us.
“Here they are, here they are.”
As the car speeds towards Lucan, a second Garda vehicle is seen waiting near the Springfield Hotel.
That vehicle also gives chase before the footage cuts to the teenagers driving around the M4 roundabout at the Leixlip-Celbridge junction.
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They continue recording as they take the slip road towards Sligo.
“You have to go on the wrong side, yeah,” one passenger tells the driver.
“Slow, slow, slow, slow,” they add as the driver turns into the path of oncoming traffic at the bottom of the slip road.
The footage starts with a Garda van doing a U-turn and pursuing the car
‘Oh yeah, yeah, yeah,’ another says as they drive into traffic.
Another shouts excitedly: ‘Shut the f*** up’ as the car drives at speed on fast lane into the heavy evening traffic.
A truck is seen flashing the car as it straddles the fast lane and grass verge as it heads in the wrong direction towards Lucan.
Motorists driving the correct way do their best to avoid a catastrophe by moving into the slow lane as the speeding car drives at them.
The following day, the TikTok account posted another video of a car travelling at more than 160km an hour on the N4 at Woodies in Lucan. And on Thursday footage was posted of the same gang being chased by gardaí.
The same account continued to post footage yesterday, this time of masked glove-wearing teenagers stealing parked cars.
In one picture, a teenager poses standing on top of one of the stolen vehicles.
In the comments section on the account under a video, one of the teenagers boasts: ‘We showed them who’s boss.’
When another person pointed out that they could have been killed, the same account replies: ‘I’ll jap ur [sic] car next.’
Last month, the Garda Ombudsman Fiosrú said gardaí acted ‘appropriately’ during its pursuit of car which crashed on the wrong side of the M9 on August 16.
It had been following the car on the N78 in Athy for a short period before it joined the M9 motorway against the direction of traffic.
Garda Ombudsman Emily Logan said the force acted ‘in line with relevant policies and procedures as determined by the Garda Commissioner’.
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