Christopher Sherrard and Debbie Mullan on loss of loved ones on the roads

Transcript

00:00I lost my dad in an RTC in 2016, and it totally devastated my family.

00:07My dad was Thompson Wilson Sherrard, 60 year old,

00:10dedicated daddy, loving granddad, and then life just changed.

00:16And it's taken a long time to even come to terms with what we would call the new norm.

00:24Whenever my dad left in the morning time, he wasn't expecting that to come home.

00:30And he left the front door, and he never came back.

00:33My plea to everybody is to just please drive carefully on the roads,

00:37and I would just not want anyone to go through that experience.

00:40It just doesn't last for one day, it lasts for a lifetime.

00:50My son was Caelan, and he was 17 and a half.

00:53Caelan was going into Limavady on a Saturday morning to get a crusty loaf of bread.

00:58We watched Caelan as he went out the driveway with his indicator on, going out the driveway,

01:03and out onto the country road, and off he went.

01:07I seen a police car coming into the drive, and I came to a stop just beside our patio doors,

01:15and Caelan's dad came running out the side door, and he put his hands to his head.

01:21I can't hear the words, I still can't hear the words, I just see the faces of the two police officers.

01:27Caelan had very visual injuries, but he was still my boy, and I needed to hug him and hold him.

01:33It was likely that there was black ice.

01:35Without being able to control the car, Caelan went into an oncoming tractor and slurry tank, and he was killed instantly.

01:42I wanted someone to believe him, when really I have to accept that it was human error.

01:48It's just not what you see, you have to be prepared for what you don't see.

01:52We need to take responsibility for our actions when we're getting in behind the wheel of a car.

01:57My message really to young people is to look at your personal responsibility when you are behind that wheel,

02:05and respect other road users.

02:07I never want any other parent to experience what I've experienced.