12 dead in UK, Ireland 'wrong-side' crashes

12 dead in UK, Ireland 'wrong-side' crashes. AFP Published August 22, 2026 Updated August 22, 2026 08: 16pm.

Key points

• AFP Published August 22, 2026 Updated August 22, 2026 08: 16pm.
• Seven individuals, including two serving police officers, died early on Saturday in a crash on the main A66 road near Middlesbrough in northeastern England, police stated.
• The incident followed a fatal crash in Ireland last Sunday in which five teenagers died.
• The M50 crash, a week earlier, involved a stolen vehicle carrying teenagers that was driven the wrong way, causing multiple serious injuries.
• There can be no tolerance for this reckless behaviour that we have seen on our roads lately.

12 dead in UK, Ireland 'wrong-side' crashes. AFP Published August 22, 2026 Updated August 22, 2026 08: 16pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

Twelve individuals have died in less than a week in accidents in England and Ireland involving cars being driven the wrong way on major roads, against the backdrop of a social media trend for "wrong-side" driving.

Authorities are investigating the exact circumstances but remarked the collision followed a pursuit of a suspicious vehicle which concluded up being driven the wrong way and colliding with a police car that was on the correct side of the road.

Notably, the incident followed a fatal crash in Ireland last Sunday in which five teenagers died. Their car had been travelling the wrong way on the M9 motorway west of Dublin when it collided head-on with another vehicle, leaving four individuals in the second car, including a child, seriously injured.

In practice, the accidents came as authorities highlighted a social media-driven trend for "wrong-side" driving.

After Sunday's fatal crash, Ireland's taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheal Martin remarked it was the latest in a series of incidents involving vehicles driven on the wrong side of motorways.

"There can be no tolerance for this reckless behaviour that we have seen on our roads lately. It must stop, " he remarked.

Police chief Justin Kelly remarked it followed a similar collision on Dublin's M50 motorway and cautioned that "what makes this reckless behaviour even more appalling is that in some cases it is being done for social media".

In practice, the M50 crash, a week earlier, involved a stolen vehicle carrying teenagers that was driven the wrong way, causing multiple serious injuries.

In another incident earlier in August, footage filmed inside a stolen car while it was being pursued by police additionally emerged on social media.

Taken together, the developments around 12 dead in UK, Ireland ' wrong point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.