Teenage girl dies in Dublin after being hit by scrambler

A teenage girl has died after being struck by a scrambler motorcycle in Finglas in Dublin.

An Garda Síochána (Irish police) said the collision occurred on Ratoath Road on Sunday at about 14:20 local time.

The girl was brought to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown following the collision, but later died.

A teenage boy has been arrested in relation to this incident and is being detained at a garda station in the Dublin region.

Fianna Fáil councillor for Ballymun-Finglas Keith Connolly told Irish broadcaster RTÉ that the teenage girl had been "on the way to meet her boyfriend" when the collision occurred.

He added that gardaí need to more aggressively pursue people on scramblers who are behaving dangerously.

"It's clear that changes to the law last year, that allow gardaí to seize these vehicles from a property without a warrant if they believe they have been used in an anti-social manner, is not enough," Connolly said.

"There's [a] great frustration around the pursuit of these vehicles... there's a level of lawlessness about these bikes being used in certain areas, and it's deeply frustrating."

The road has since reopened.

Police have appealed to anyone who may have witnessed the collision, or who has camera footage, to contact them.

Gardaí expressed their sympathies to the family of the girl.

They said that the Garda Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) continues to adopt "a proactive approach in addressing the illegal use of scramblers, quads, e-bikes, and e-scooters".

Between 1 January and 30 October 2025, 449 scramblers, quads, e-bikes, and e-scooters were seized in the DMR.

Gardaí said this "marks a steady rise and effective performance in this particular area of policing when compared with figures from the same period in previous years: 128 seizures in 2024, 67 in 2023, 63 in 2022, and 65 in 2021".

They added that these figures "are indicative of the DMR's robust and operationally active policing response to this issue" and that the assistant commissioner is "focused on driving performance in this particular area of policing and road safety".

"The pursuit of offending vehicles is approached with caution, taking into account a range of factors including environmental conditions, the nature of the offence, and the overarching priority of public and Garda safety," the force said.

"While public discourse has raised concerns about the reluctance of gardaí to engage in pursuits due to legal and safety risks, the DMR remains committed to arresting those involved in the illegal use of scramblers and similar vehicles."

According to a Garda spokesperson, under the policy on spontaneous pursuits, the decision by gardaí to engage in a pursuit "must be done in the interests of public safety, to protect life, to prevent crime and to apprehend offender(s)".

It added that a key consideration "is to ask if the pursuit is necessary and balanced against threat, risk and harm for which the subject driver is being/about to be pursued".

"Gardaí must comply with fundamental principles of legality, necessity, proportionality and accountability as well as in keeping with international human right laws."