Skip to main contentAccess keys help

[an error occurred while processing this directive]
BBC News
watch One-Minute World News
News image
Last Updated: Tuesday, 11 May, 2004, 12:48 GMT 13:48 UK
Too Young To Die: Case Studies
A video aimed at young drivers, entitled Too Young To Die, tells the real-life stories of the families and friends of victims of fatal road accidents. Here are two of them.

THE PARENT

Steve Foulkes lost his son, Daniel, who was killed by a speeding motorcyclist at the age of 14.

Daniel was an accomplished footballer and had won a place at Manchester City's youth academy as a 12-year-old.

Sadly, his career ended before it had begun, leaving his father to wonder what might have been.

Two weeks before Daniel's 15th birthday, he was wheeling his bicycle across a road when he was knocked down.

The motorcyclist had, Steve heard afterwards, been "driving like a madman". He was seen performing wheelies and zig-zagging across the road.

Crucially, he was driving at 80mph in a 40mph zone.

Daniel was taken to hospital but medics discovered that he was too badly brain-damaged to survive the crash.

THE FRIEND

Richard had to endure the agony of seeing his best friend being run over and killed in front of him.

He and his friend Brodie were enjoying what Richard remembers as "a perfect day".

The pair spent the day watching football at Brodie's father's house, before moving on to a local pub. But the perfect day was about to end in tragedy.

They were walking along a country lane when a car ploughed into the verge where they were standing.

Brodie was thrown on to the vehicle's roof and was then slammed against a road sign by the force of the impact. He ended up in a ditch.

Richard was shocked by what he saw when he found his companion. His eyes were closed and Richard said his goodbyes.

Accidents are not uncommon on roads like the one on which Brodie died. A third of driver deaths occur on rural roads and a third of young drivers admit to overtaking when they cannot see what is in front of them.


SEE ALSO:



PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

News Front Page | Africa | Americas | Asia-Pacific | Europe | Middle East | South Asia
UK | Business | Entertainment | Science/Nature | Technology | Health
Have Your Say | In Pictures | Week at a Glance | Country Profiles | In Depth | Programmes
AmericasAfricaEuropeMiddle EastSouth AsiaAsia Pacific