This article is related to the incident in Eire just over a week ago. Mum begged judge to jail son before fatal M9 crash Kamil Pustkowski, 17, died with four other teenagers in the M9 crash, which also injured three sisters and a child (Picture: TikTok/PA) Ireland is mourning five teenagers killed in a horrific wrong-way crash on the M9 in County Kildare. Now the mother of 17-year-old Kamil Pustkowski has revealed she had begged a judge to jail her son weeks before his death, saying his behaviour had spiralled beyond her control. Kamil, from Limerick, was one of five young occupants of a BMW killed when the car travelling the wrong way on the motorway smashed into another vehicle on Sunday, August 16. Jack Kennedy, 17, Jeremy O’Brien, 18, Joe Carthy, 15, and 16-year-old Alex McCarthy also died. Jeremy O’Brien (from top left to right), Joe Carthy, and Kamil Pustkowski died along with Alex McCarthy (bottom left) and Jack Kennedy Sisters Ella Hendricken (from left to right), Niamh Kinsella and Alma Kinsella were seriously hurt in the M9 crash along with Alma’s son travelling in the car with them to the airport Three sisters and a child in the other vehicle were injured and remain in hospital. Ella Hendricken, Niamh Kinsella and Alma Kinsella, along with Alma’s seven-year-old son, were caught up in the devastating collision. The tragedy has also triggered a bitter online backlash, with hatred directed at the dead teenagers and their families. Online rumours accused Kamil of being a gang ‘leader’ – a claim his mother, Emilia Pustkowska, fiercely rejected. Ms Pustkowska said Kamil had taken responsibility for previous offences that brought him before the courts. But she said his cases were repeatedly adjourned, reportedly because of a solicitors’ strike and twice because evidence was not ready. She said she had been desperate for the justice system to intervene. “Nobody listened to me,” she told the Irish Mail on Sunday, adding that she had even believed prison might give her son time to mature. In January 2025, gardai contacted the family over possible car offences involving Kamil, which his mother described as the point when things “snowballed”. He was also accused of house burglaries, although his mother said she was unsure whether he was involved and no charges were brought over them. Court dates followed. A hearing at the Children’s Court in Smithfield, Dublin, on July 22 and another case scheduled in Limerick for July 27 were reportedly adjourned, despite Kamil pleading guilty to some offences. Ms Pustkowska said she had told a judge: “I can’t keep him at home.” She described living for two years “as a prisoner” because she had locked everything away. Kamil had been diagnosed with autism and struggled to keep friends, his mother said. While accepting his crimes, she insisted he had been groomed and picked on, and argued it was unfair to put all the blame on him. She also said gardai had told her Kamil was not driving the BMW. “I know he wasn’t [the leader],” she said. “He was lost… not the leader.” Ms Pustkowska said she was “so sorry” for the families caught up in the crash. But she said the atmosphere was so hostile that even apologising to the injured family felt impossible. The funerals have now begun. Kamil, Joe and Alex were buried on Friday, while Jeremy was laid to rest in Askea, Carlow, and Jack is due to be cremated tomorrow afternoon. Jeremy’s mother also spoke ahead of his funeral, saying she wished she could apologise to the injured family. She said she had prayed for them to heal and added: “I am not proud of what happened and I don’t condone what they did – I wish my son had never got into that car.” Mum begged judge to jail joyrider son weeks before his death in M9 wrong way crash
