The father of a 25-year-old pedestrian killed by a drink driver has given renewed backing for the 'road to zero' campaign to reduce road deaths.
Martin Gallagher was struck by a car on the Racecourse Road in Derry while walking home from Halloween celebrations at the Guildhall in 2009.
His parents, Martin and Elizabeth, shared their story in a hard-hitting video message that is being promoted again on social media following a particularly deadly year on Northern Ireland's roads in 2024, with 68 fatalities recorded.
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Speaking to Belfast Live, Martin's father, also named Martin, said he is gladly renewing his backing for the public safety campaign.
The campaign has received high profile backing from the likes of the Ulster Rugby stars Jacob Stockdale, Nick Timoney and Michael Lowry, the Northern Ireland international and Liverpool football star Conor Bradley, the GAA and others over recent months.
Martin Gallagher said: "We were approached by the road safety people and we were only too glad to do it. It was difficult for us to do, to go back to the night Martin was killed."
In the video, which is being shared again by the Road to Zero accounts on social media, Martin describes how he found out about his son's death.
Martin said: "The first time we got the word was... through the bedroom door." He said the door was opened and the words "he's dead, he's dead" were shouted through. "We found out at five o'clock that morning," he added.
His wife, Elizabeth, said: "You just die inside. He was left lying on the road. I said to him that night 'you come back the same way you go out'. He didn't even come back."
The 25-year-old's body was so badly mutilated his parents couldn't see him after he died. The force of the collision threw Martin's body up the road and he suffered extensive damage to his body, inclduing his brain, several broken bones, an enlarged heart and a damaged eye.
Speaking to Belfast Live, grieving dad Martin said: "The hardest thing was when Martin was killed half his face was missing. People don't realise. The coffin was never opened.
"We're renewing our support for this campaign because we want to deter other people from driving in that way."
Martin's parents have long campaigned for tougher sentencing for drink driving offences, and Martin said they are still appealing for action to be taken - particularly in cases involving fatalities.
He added: "It was a life sentence for us."
A total of 71 people lost their lives on roads in Northern Ireland in 2023, compared to 55 deaths in 2022 and 50 in 2021. The total for 2024 was 68. Hundreds of people have been seriously injured, which leaves too many families, friends and communities devastated.
The Department for Infrastructure’s ‘Share the Road to Zero’ initiative which encourages all road users to think of safety first when travelling.
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