LAST UPDATE | 25 Jan 2019
PEOPLE HAVE BEEN asked to report any images or footage of a fatal accident that occurred just off the M50 in Dublin yesterday.
Shortly before 11.30am yesterday, gardaí and emergency services were called to the scene of a multi-vehicle collision on a slip road just off the M50 at Junction 5 in Finglas.
Images of the incident have been circulating online. A woman in her 30s, the driver of one of the cars involved, died in the incident. She’s been named as Jackie Griffin.
The driver of a second car, a man in his 50s, was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Minor damage was caused to a truck and a third car.
Gardaí yesterday asked people not to share the images out of respect to the woman’s family and the other people involved in the collision.
Independent Senator Lynn Ruane is among those to call on people to report photos of the incident. She is a family friend of the victim.
“My friend has lost his sister and the last thing his family need right now is an image of the accident,” Ruane tweeted this morning.
Facebook and WhatsApp
In the message she asked anyone who sees photos of the incident to share the URL link with her.
Facebook has created a digital fingerprint for the images that will prevent them from being re-uploaded to the site but it still need links to remove the images from any networks on which they remain. Facebook also owns the WhatsApp messaging app.
Ruane said the sudden loss of a loved one is “traumatic enough without the added trauma of an image”, adding: “So please if you do come across it let me know and/or report it straight away.”
TheJournal.ie has contacted Facebook for comment.
Fine Gael TD Colm Brophy said instances such as this show that “legislators can no longer ignore” the spreading of graphic images and misinformation via platforms like WhatsApp.
We must have modern rules and regulations for social media that respect human decency and the privacy of other individuals.
“If traditional media can abide by this and have socially accepted boundaries in which they operate while still providing all with a public service, social media companies must also.
Brophy said he would raise the issue with the Oireachtas Communications Committee.
Yesterday gardaí said some motorists were “slowing down unnecessarily while passing the scene” of the incident, causing delays.
Anyone with information has been asked to contact Finglas Garda Station 01 666 7500 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
The incident was one of three fatal traffic collisions that happened yesterday.
A man in his 40s died after being struck by a 4 x 4 in Co Kildare yesterday evening and a woman in her 80s died following a collision between two vehicles in Co Galway yesterday morning.
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