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

The mother of 18-year-old Jeremy O’Brien, one of five teenagers killed in the devastating M9 crash in Ireland, has made a fresh apology to the family seriously injured in the collision.

Margaret Berry, 36, described the past month as the “worst period of my life” following the August 16 crash in County Kildare.

Jeremy died alongside Joey Carthy, 15, Alex McCarthy, Jack Kennedy and Kamil Pustkowski, after the BMW they were travelling in was driven the wrong way along the M9 motorway and collided head-on with another vehicle.

Four members of the Kinsella family were seriously injured in the collision, including three women and seven-year-old Yemi.

“I AM SO SORRY FOR THIS TERRIBLE TRAGEDY”

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

She said a local priest, Fr Tom Little, had met with the Kinsella family and passed on her apology.

Margaret said she would continue to pray for the family and expressed her sympathy for what they had endured.

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

She also spoke about the pain of losing her son, saying she would give anything to be visiting him in a hospital rather than visiting his grave.

“MY SON WASN’T AN EVIL PERSON”

Margaret defended her son’s character while acknowledging the seriousness of what happened.

She said Jeremy was not an evil person, but had made what she described as a terrible and catastrophic mistake.

The grieving mother also revealed that she had received abusive messages online following the crash, including comments directed at her and her son.

She said the messages had caused additional pain while she was already grieving Jeremy’s death.

Fr Little condemned the messages, saying grieving families should not be subjected to such abuse.

NEW DETAILS ABOUT THE BMW

Almost a month after the crash, Margaret said Gardaí informed her that the BMW involved in the collision had been purchased by Jeremy.

According to the report, investigators believe the vehicle may have been intended as a “runaround” for the teenagers and that it had been linked to three attempted break-ins involving cars in Athy before the fatal crash.

Margaret said she had never seen the vehicle and did not know that her son had bought it.

She later received the vehicle’s logbook in the post and said she destroyed it because it was a painful reminder of what had happened.

She also said she wished she had known about the car earlier and would have told Jeremy to get rid of it.

INVESTIGATION INTO THE CRASH CONTINUES

The Garda investigation into the circumstances surrounding the collision remains ongoing.

Separately, Ireland’s police oversight body Fiosrú published the findings of its investigation on September 18 into Garda interactions with the BMW before the crash.

Fiosrú said Gardaí had followed the vehicle on the N78 in Athy for a short period before it entered the M9 travelling against the direction of traffic.

The investigation found that permission to continue the pursuit had initially been granted, but the Garda vehicle terminated the pursuit after the BMW entered the motorway. Other Garda units attempted to establish an appropriate location for a stopping device before the BMW made several U-turns and eventually collided with the oncoming vehicle.

Fiosrú concluded that the Gardaí involved had acted in accordance with the law and relevant Garda policies and procedures.

The finding does not determine why the teenagers drove onto the motorway in the wrong direction, and the wider investigation into the crash remains separate.

A MOTHER’S FINAL PLEA

As she continues to mourn her son, Margaret has urged other young people not to repeat the decisions that led to the tragedy.

She said families had been left devastated and urged teenagers to think carefully before getting behind the wheel and driving recklessly.

For Margaret, the tragedy has left a permanent loss.

She said she would never know why Jeremy made the decision that night, but hoped the full facts surrounding the crash would eventually become clear.

Meanwhile, the Kinsella family continues to recover from the injuries sustained in the collision.

Five teenage lives were lost on the M9 that morning, while another family was left facing a long recovery — and grieving relatives on both sides continue to live with the consequences of what happened.