Teen drove 170kmh wrong way down M8 before horror crash that killed passenger and left woman with life-changing injuries

A teenager received a four-year detention sentence after driving at over 170kmh the wrong way down the Dublin-Cork motorway in a stolen car resulting in a collision which claimed the life of a 16-year-old passenger.

The 17-year-old driver, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of John ‘Johnny’ Foley (16) outside Mitchelstown on July 1 2023

The collision also inflicted horrific injuries on a female motorist on her way to Dublin Airport to begin a new life in Australia.

Two other passengers in the teenager’s car were also seriously injured.

Cork Circuit Criminal Court was told by Detective Garda John Murphy that the driver of a stolen car, which contained five teenagers, had earlier evaded gardaí in Glanworth village in north Cork on the evening of June 30.

The vehicle had been stolen in Cork city two days earlier.

Later, in the early hours of July 1, the same stolen Toyota was spotted in Mitchelstown.

The driver avoided gardaí by driving the wrong way around two roundabouts at high speed.

The vehicle then sped onto the M8 Dublin-Cork motorway, where the Toyota drove the wrong way for six kilometres down the northbound lane.

Judge Helen Boyle was told the car reached speeds of over 170kmh – forcing other motorists to take emergency evasive manoeuvres to avoid a collision.

However, at 1am the Toyota ploughed into a Kia being driven by mental health occupational therapist Roisin Stakelum.

Ms Stakelum was driving to Dublin Airport to fly to Australia to start a new life.

In harrowing victim impact evidence, Ms Stakelum said the collision left her with life-changing injuries.

“I began my journey just after midnight on the morning of July 1, 2023. I never made it to the airport. I barely made it out of Fermoy. That crash brought a violent end to my plans, all my hard work and dreams for a new life,” she said.

“What happened that night on the motorway altered the course of my life and changed me forever. I’m haunted by the memory of the impact. Haunted by the memory of the headlights and then what seemed like an explosion. I often think of how unlucky I was to be on that particular stretch of road at that exact moment.”

After the collision, Ms Stakelum had to undergo an eight-hour operation, which involved titanium plates being inserted to repair multiple fractures to her face.

“Even now I am unable to fully open my mouth. I have nerve damage all over the bottom half of my face and have no sensation or altered sensation in a lot of it,” she said.

“I don’t think I fully understood the meaning of pain until this experience. The first time seeing my face in a mirror after the surgery, my face was so damaged and swollen and bruised I didn’t recognise my own reflection. I thought I was somebody else. That was terrifying. I couldn’t physically smile for months.”

Ms Stakelum said that she was readmitted to hospital late last August with an intestinal obstruction which has caused her excruciating pain.

“If someone gave me the option of dying or continuing to experience that pain I wouldn’t have thought twice about taking the offer of death.

“The burden of my injuries has placed strain on those closest to me, especially my parents. The emotional toll on my loved ones cannot be overstated and I am deeply saddened by the pain this has caused them.

“My future was once so certain. I knew exactly what I was going to be doing. I had it mapped out. Now, I feel disconnected, like I’ve been plugged out of my life. I can’t see a way back. I don’t think I’m ever going to feel like myself again. I won’t move to Australia now. That future doesn’t exist for me anymore.”

Ms Stakelum described the death of Johnny Foley as an “immense tragedy”.

The teen was from Togher in Cork and died despite desperate efforts by paramedics to save him after the crash.

“The loss of a young life is an immense tragedy and I cannot help but feel a profound sense of sorrow for the untimely passing of this young person. My heart goes out to the family and loved ones who grieve his loss.”

The 17-year-old defendant also pleaded guilty to three charges of dangerous driving causing serious harm to two teenage passengers in his car as well to the other motorist, Ms Stakelum, in the two-car collision as well as to a count of endangerment where other motorists had to take evasive action.

Judge Boyle said it was a tragic incident and noted that other motorists had to take dramatic action to avoid colliding with the car driven by the defendant.

She noted that the youth had had little or no parental assistance growing up.

Judge Boyle said the teen had a “highly dysfunctional childhood” where he had experienced severe neglect.

She said that the loss of life and injuries involved were tragic.

Judge Boyle said that there was a certain “inevitability” about the crash given the dangerous manner in which the car was being driven.

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