‘MY SON WASN’T EVIL — HE MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE’: MOTHER OF M9 CRASH VICTIM MAKES FRESH APOLOGY

KILDARE, IRELAND — The mother of 18-year-old Jeremy O’Brien, one of five teenagers killed in a devastating wrong-way collision on Ireland’s M9 motorway, has made a fresh apology to the family who were seriously injured in the crash.

Margaret Berry, 36, said the past month had been “the worst period of my life” following the death of her son on August 16.

The crash happened at around 3 a.m. in County Kildare, when a BMW travelling against the direction of traffic on the M9 collided head-on with a Hyundai carrying four members of the same family.

Five teenagers in the BMW — Jeremy O’Brien, Joey Carthy, Alex McCarthy, Jack Kennedy and Kamil Pustkowski — died in the collision. Four people in the Hyundai, including sisters Ella Hendricken, Niamh Kinsella and Alma Kinsella, along with Alma’s seven-year-old son Yemi, were seriously injured.

‘I JUST WANTED THEM TO KNOW HOW SORRY I AM’

Speaking to The Irish Sun, Berry said she wanted the injured family to know that she was deeply sorry for what happened.

She revealed that local priest Father Tom Little had met with the Kinsella family and delivered an apology on her behalf.

“I just wanted to let that family know how sorry I am for this terrible tragedy,” Berry said, according to The Irish Sun. She added that she would continue to pray for the family.

Father Little confirmed that he had met the Kinsellas and said Berry was genuinely remorseful.

The priest also condemned hateful messages that grieving families had received online following the crash, saying families dealing with such a loss should not be subjected to further abuse.

‘MY SON MADE A CATASTROPHIC DECISION’

Berry said she accepted that her son had made a devastating decision that night while rejecting descriptions of him as an evil person.

“My son made a catastrophic decision that night and the consequences have been devastating,” she said.

She added that she would give anything to be visiting her son in a hospital rather than at his grave.

Berry also urged young people to think carefully before making reckless decisions behind the wheel, saying the consequences can affect multiple families.

BERRY SAYS SHE DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THE BMW

A month after the crash, Berry revealed that Gardaí had informed her that the BMW involved in the collision had been purchased by Jeremy.

According to her account, investigators believed the vehicle was intended to be used by the teenagers as a “runaround.”

The BMW had also been linked by investigators to three attempted break-ins involving cars in Athy, County Kildare, before the fatal collision, according to The Irish Sun.

Berry said she had never seen the vehicle and did not know where her son had been keeping it.

After Gardaí informed her about the purchase, she received the vehicle’s logbook in the post.

She said she wished she had known about the BMW earlier and would have told her son to get rid of it.

‘I WISH MY SON HAD NEVER GOT INTO THAT CAR’

Berry said the family had been left struggling to understand why the teenagers drove onto the motorway in the wrong direction.

She said she had been unaware of Jeremy’s plans that night and believed he had told her he was going rabbit hunting and would return home around 1 a.m.

When he had not returned by 3 a.m., she became increasingly concerned.

The news of the crash later shattered the family.

“I wish my son had never got into that car,” Berry said, while acknowledging the seriousness of the decision that preceded the collision.

She also spoke about the difficulty of facing the Christmas period without her son, saying the family’s life had effectively been put on hold since the tragedy.

FIOSRÚ CLEARS GARDAÍ OF WRONGDOING

The latest comments from Berry come as an independent investigation into the Garda response before the crash has also concluded.

On September 18, Fiosrú, Ireland’s police oversight body, said Gardaí who followed the BMW before the fatal collision had acted in accordance with the law and relevant Garda policies and procedures.

Investigators examined CCTV footage, Garda radio transmissions and information from a forensic collision investigator.

According to Fiosrú, Gardaí had followed the BMW for a short period on the N78 in Athy before it entered the M9 travelling against the direction of traffic.

Permission to continue the pursuit had initially been granted by the Garda Control Room. After the BMW entered the M9, however, the Garda vehicle terminated the pursuit and the Control Room confirmed that it should not continue.

Other Garda units attempted to establish a suitable location to deploy a stopping device, but the BMW made a number of U-turns before eventually colliding with the oncoming Hyundai.

Fiosrú said its investigation found that Gardaí had acted appropriately, within the law and in line with relevant procedures.

THE FAMILIES CONTINUE TO LIVE WITH THE AFTERMATH

The crash left five families mourning teenagers while the four people in the other vehicle continue to recover from serious injuries.

The Kinsella family said they were taking their recovery “one day at a time” and were becoming stronger as the days passed.

For Margaret Berry, however, grief continues alongside the knowledge that her son was one of the teenagers in the BMW.

She has urged other young people to learn from the tragedy and avoid making decisions that could put themselves and innocent people at risk.

Her apology does not change what happened on the M9, but it reflects the continuing grief and anguish surrounding a crash that has left two families facing profoundly different forms of loss.