The stolen sportscar which struck the Garda squad car killing two officers on Sunday morning may have been travelling at up to 120 m.p.h. along the Stillorgan dual-carriageway into Dublin.
Gardaí investigating the deaths of their two colleagues were last night waiting to question one of the two youths in the car which crashed into the officers' squad car.
Both youths were being treated in St James's Hospital for minor injuries.
They were saved partly by the fact that the twin airbags in the stolen Mazda MX sportscar inflated after hitting the Garda car.
The Garda car had pulled sideways across the Stillorgan dual-carriageway to clear other cars from the path of the speeding vehicle.
After crashing through the Garda car and killing the two officers, the Mazda careered down the dual-carriageway without further collision.
The two youths received medical treatment almost immediately as one of the first drivers on the scene was a doctor.
According to sources close to the investigation, both youths, aged 15 and 16, have extensive criminal records.
It is believed the two were part of a gang of eight teenagers who travelled out to south Co Dublin on Sunday morning, having stolen a car in Elgin Road. They then split into two groups and began break-ins to steal high-value goods.
In one recent such spree by a young inner city gang, jewellery worth up to €100,000 was reportedly taken from a house in Foxrock.
It is believed that news of such high-value thefts encouraged other youths to begin moving out into the southern suburbs on stealing sprees.