Twelve people dead in a single week. Two crashes. Two countries. One horrifying pattern, cars being driven the wrong way down major roads.
When I first saw this come across my feed, what hit me hardest was the senseless loss of young lives for what may have been a viral TikTok challenge and the loss of two police officers, one of whom survived a tour in Iraq only to be killed doing his job on the streets of the UK.
People are unaware of how serious these viral trends can be. All for the sake of getting engagement on a social media platform.
What happened in Ireland
On August 16, 2026, a black BMW travelling the wrong way on the northbound M9 motorway near Moone, County Kildare, collided head-on with a Hyundai.1 Five teenagers in the BMW died: Kamil Pustkowski (17), Joey Carthy (15), Alex McCarthy (17), Jack Kennedy (17), and Jeremy O’Brien (18).
Four people in the Hyundai, including a seven-year-old boy, were seriously injured. Two women remain in critical condition. The family was travelling to Dublin Airport for a wedding.
Gardaí believe the BMW was driven onto the wrong side to evade police.
What happened in England
Six days later, on August 22, 2026, seven people died when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way on the A66 near South Bank, Middlesbrough, collided with a Cleveland Police armed response vehicle at approximately 3:39 a.m.2
The officers killed were PC Matthew Blades (37) and PC Tom Clough (38). The five Passat occupants: Cole Robert Worthy (17), Theo Rae (17), Makai Saddington (18), Jakub Matusiak (23), and Michael Robert Cahill (23).
The IOPC has confirmed the two officers were not involved in the pursuit and has opened an investigation.
The social media trail nobody wants to talk about
Here is where this gets complicated, and where I need to be careful.
Police have stated there is no evidence the A66 crash was connected to a TikTok challenge. Some people online are pushing back against anyone who mentions the social media angle at all.
But here is what we do know: Saddington and Matusiak had previously posted TikTok videos showing dangerous driving.3 Those videos are still available on TikTok even though his account has been disabled, flying in the face of what TikTok have said about removing content like that.
Every time content like this is posted and allowed to stay up, it emboldens the creators to make more. Especially when it earns them more viewers, more likes, and an audience to cheer them on.
Parents will not necessarily see the trail or build-up of these videos and therefore will not see the danger. That is why it is imperative that platforms identify the content and remove it, not if or when it is reported. The technology already exists to make this happen, but they choose not to use it.
The algorithm problem parents do not understand
I hear this from parents a lot, “My kid watches car videos on TikTok, but he would never actually do something that stupid.”
I am sure the parents of the teens in these videos thought the very same thing at some point.
The algorithm is pushing content like this to teens and this then desensitises them and normalises the activity in their minds. The “my child would never do that” argument is weak at best. Would a parent rather risk believing that, or have a proper conversation about the trend and its risks?
The frequency of content like this being recorded is what the real concern should be. Teens do not see the news stories of the deadly results. They just see the “exciting” content that gains hundreds of thousands of views.
Wrong-way driving incidents are increasing
Transport Infrastructure Ireland has recorded 62 wrong-way driving incidents on Irish motorways so far in 2026.4 That is a 32% increase from the same period in 2025.
Thirty-two per cent. In one year.
I am not going to sit here and tell you that every single one of those incidents is connected to social media. I cannot prove that. But I can tell you that when dangerous behaviour gets filmed, shared, celebrated, and algorithmically promoted to millions of teenagers, some of those teenagers are going to try it.
The UK government has urged TikTok and other platforms to remove videos “celebrating” dangerous driving. TikTok says it removes violating content and is monitoring material connected to the incidents.
Monitoring. Not preventing. There is an important difference.
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What parents need to do tonight
If you are reading this and feeling sick to your stomach, good. That means you are paying attention and that you care.
Here is the conversation you need to have:
Explain to your teen that the end result here was twelve people dead. Parents lost children. Children lost parents. Wives lost their husbands. All for a few likes on a platform that does not care about the safety of people who use it.
There are going to be repercussions from these two incidents alone for many years to come, by which time the viral trend will have been forgotten.
Then ask:
• Have you seen content like this on your feeds?
• Do you have any of it saved on your phone?
• Have any of your friends been involved in anything like that?
This has to be a two-way conversation and not an interrogation. This is genuinely a very touchy subject and has legal ramifications if they do get involved in activity like that.
I think just having the conversation and discussing the fact that twelve people died should be enough of a warning for most teens.
What to look for on their phone
If you want to go further:
1. Check their TikTok “Liked” videos and saved collections
2. Look at their YouTube watch history, particularly Shorts
3. Check their camera roll for any videos filmed from moving vehicles
4. Look at group chats on Snapchat, Instagram, and WhatsApp for shared clips
5. Check if they follow accounts that post “chase” or “cop run” content
You are not looking for evidence to punish them. You are looking for warning signs that the algorithm has been feeding them a steady diet of content that makes this look fun, exciting, and consequence-free.
Platform accountability is not optional
I have said this before and I will keep saying it, platforms have the technology to identify and remove this content proactively. They choose not to because engagement metrics matter more than safety.
Every video that stays up is a recruitment tool. Every comment section full of fire emojis is encouragement. Every view count climbing into the hundreds of thousands tells a teenager that this is something worth doing.
The platforms are not neutral. The algorithm is not neutral and until they are held accountable, parents have to fill the gap.
You are not powerless
I know this feels overwhelming. I know the technology moves faster than any of us can keep up with. I know you cannot monitor everything.
But you can have the conversation. You can explain the consequences. You can make sure your child understands that the people in these videos are not anonymous statistics, they are someone’s son, someone’s daughter, someone’s husband, someone’s dad.
Twelve people dead in a week.
If having one uncomfortable conversation with your teenager means they think twice before getting in a car with someone showing off for the camera, it is worth it.
As always, thank you for your support. Please share this across your social media, and if you do have any comments, questions, or concerns, then feel free to reach out to me via the Social page, as I am always happy to spend some time helping to protect children online.
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Irish Independent, “Five teenagers killed in wrong-way M9 crash near Moone, Co Kildare,” August 16, 2026. Accessed August 2026.
BBC News, “Seven dead in A66 wrong-way crash including two police officers,” August 22, 2026. Accessed August 2026.
The Guardian, “A66 crash: Previous dangerous driving videos posted by occupants remain on TikTok,” August 23, 2026. Accessed August 2026. Note: While the existence of previous videos is confirmed, authorities have not established a direct link between social media challenges and the A66 crash.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland, “Wrong-way driving incidents on Irish motorways, January-August 2026.” Accessed August 2026.