Ombudsman probes garda response to stolen car before M50 crash

The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, Fiosrú, is investigating whether two officers were instructed not to engage with a stolen car carrying eight teenagers before it drove the wrong way on the M50 motorway and caused a serious collision. The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday, August 9, 2026, at Junction 12 at Firhouse in Dublin.

According to sources, the stolen vehicle was sighted in the Rathmines area before being spotted by two young officers attached to Tallaght Garda Station in the Rathfarnham area. The officers, who had only basic driving training, called the sighting into the Garda Control Centre as per protocol. They were reportedly told not to engage the vehicle after it began driving the wrong way on the southbound carriageway of the M50. Sources indicate the officers were not permitted to use lights or sirens or exceed the speed limit due to their training level, and faced potential disciplinary action or prosecution if they did so.

The stolen car then collided head-on with another vehicle at approximately 5:30 a.m. The driver of the second car, a man in his 20s, was seriously injured and is being treated in hospital for what sources describe as...