James' story:
James Nash was from Kilworth in County Cork. He was killed on the 5th of February, 2000. He was 19 years of age
That night, on the N8 north of Fermoy, he was walking home in the dark when he was struck by an articulated lorry and instantly killed.
"Everything was coming right for him”, says his father, Jim, recalling that his son was training to be a chef. "If only he had worn a visibility jacket that night."
Conor's story:
Conor Coleman was from Dunderrow, outside Kinsale in County Cork. He was killed on Saturday the 29th of September 2001. He was 15 years of age.
Near Innishannon on the N7, he was in a collision and six of out seven people were killed. Conor was sitting behind the driver and his neck was broken in the impact.
His father, Batt Coleman, recounts how the whole community was devastated by the loss of life. "There’s a whole lot of living to do between 15 and 70. Don't throw it all away – it's gone forever if you do".
Sarah's story:
Sarah Fitzgerald was from Two Mile House outside Naas in County Kildare. She was killed on Saturday, the 11th of August, 2007. She was 19 years of age.
On a junction near her home, she died in a collision only two weeks after her younger sister, Katie, died from a two year illness.
Sarah’s parents, David and Tina Fitzgerald, talk about Sarah and the loss they have suffered. "Life is fragile – especially on the roads," Sarah's father says. "You can’t be careful enough. Even when you think you are safe, you’re in danger."
Emma's story
Emma Hastings died when she was 17, on Valentine's Day, 2002, when she got a lift in Summerhill, County Meath. "You have no idea how many lives are devastated by a car crash," says her mother, Catherine Hastings.
Miclín's story
Miclín Feeney survived his crash on Halloween night, 2004. But he suffered a brain injury. He was 23 years of age. He crashed in Lettermullen, County Galway: "I made a stupid mistake," he says. "If you think drinking and driving is cool, just think of me. Never risk it."
Errin's story
Errin Crawley died on the M50 on Dublin on 28th November, 2004. She was 22 years of age. Her mother, Betty Cawley says that Errin left her mark on the world: "She insisted we all put on our seatbelts. That's why the three of us who were also in the car are still alive."
Fran's story
Fran Mitchell, from Greystones, County Wicklow, died only five minutes from his home in a car crash on 23rd July 2005. He was 27 years of age.
His brother Charlie tells his story and highlights the danger of driving while fatigued.
"Fran drove home stone cold sober." He was coming home late after working a late shift and then watching a movie with a friend. "At 1:30 am, he crashed into a wall and died instantly. Fran had dozed off at the wheel."
Mark's story
Mark Flood was killed after a night out in Dunshaughlin. His tragic death left a family and a much wider community devastated.
Marjorie, his mother, tells the story of how her family’s world was shaken to its core early one morning,
when she found out that her son had been needlessly killed on the road. Marjorie reminds us that until you’re affected, you don’t realise how many people die in preventable crashes on our roads.
Siobhán's story
Siobhán, a young woman, was due to graduate the very next day, when suddenly her whole world was turned upside down following a collision with an articulated truck.
Siobhán now has an acquired brain injury, and in her ad, she explains how it only takes a split second for an entire lifetime to change forever.
Dr.Aine Carroll's story
Dr. Áine Carroll, Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine at the National Rehabilitation Hospital has seen the full spectrum of the catastrophic consequences of collisions on the road.
From individuals whose whole lives have been made unrecognisable by a single moment on the road, to families who must devote everything to support a survivor of a road crash, often for the rest of their lives.
As a patient’s mother once said to Dr Carroll, there are sometimes worse things than dying.
Ciaran
Four year old Ciarán Treacy was killed in a head-on collision with a drunk driver in April 2014. His mother Gillian, her husband Ronan, the Emergency Services who attended the collision and the medical team who fought to save Ciarán’s life are all featured in the latest ‘Crashed Lives’ ad campaign