Andy Mclean-ALWAYS IN OUR HEARTS It was around six thirty on a sunny 11th September 2010 night, when the police came to my business to break the tragic news they had to tell me. My 22 year old son Andy Mclean had been on his way home from the farmers market where he worked every week when a French driver on the wrong side of the road ploughed into his Vauxhall Nova killing him instantly. I could not believe what they were telling me and told them over and over again there must have been some mistake but they assured me they were 99% convinced it was Andy. They then asked me to come with them to make a formal identification of my boy, as being his dad, I was next of kin. The 30 min drive to the police mortuary seemed an eternity, so many things to do, so much I had to hold myself together for, how could I break this news to his mother, partner and his beloved Gran? I had to know and be sure it was him before I did anything. All too soon we had arrived and I was an emotional wreck. I was shown in to a small side room where the police needed to ask me questions regarding my date of birth,etc.i couldn’t remember my date of birth,or where I was born,I told the police I would answer all their questions,but they had to take me to see Andy immediately, as I needed to know and be sure it was him.They handed me a plastic bag containing his wallet,gold chain and his watch,all had been freshly washed and I noticed the bag had steamed up inside with condensation.They completely understood and took me a few short steps across a corridor to the viewing room ,opening the door and allowing me to enter whilst they waited outside.i stepped inside ,and turned to look through the glass and it was undoubtedly my oldest son Andy. He lay on a trolley,close to the glass,covered by a purple blanket with a gold cross on it,a sheet covering half his face,his teeth were missing,his hair was wet,his nose was broken and he had a series of small cuts on his face.the pain I felt in seeing my boy like this was overbearing,I wept uncontrollably as the police let me have just a few minutes with him - separated by a pane of glass.i couldn’t touch him or hold him in my arms one last time. My mind thought back his 22 years over that few minutes we spent together,being the first to see him as he arrived at his birth, bathing him,the smell of his freshly washed hair,putting his jammies and dressing gown on,watching him toddle about with his bottle hanging from his mouth,smiling, putting him to bed, watching him grow from a baby to a boy to a man. The pain and grief I felt in those memories and trying to tell the family what had happened devoured me and I could no longer hold back my hurt, anger, disbelief and when the tears came they didn’t stop. Andy was at the happiest time of his life when he was taken from us. He was an apprentice mechanic working with a great boss and friend. He was recently engaged, had his own place ,and was out doing what he loved most ... driving his Nova. I didn’t realise until the days in the run up to his funeral, just what a popular lad he was. The 58 sympathy cards on the table, the endless visits from people, calls, emails from New Zealand, texts and so it went on. I prayed to God that my son had not suffered and questioned him over and over again why he had to take Andy from us. Answers I will never ever get. The funeral, I don’t remember too much about. I stared at his lovely coffin throughout the service, my mind playing his life over to me like a video, the flowers,the 300 people that attended and finally laying him to rest in the cemetery. I thought of my fortunate 44 years and how my son would never be married, have kids or enjoy life as I had and I was so angry at God for not taking me and give Andy his young life, as I would have gladly have died to save him. I watched my family ripped apart, their pain, their sorrow and I was powerless to do anything to help them cope. I lost myself in alcohol for days on end, I didn’t wash, shave or some days even dress. My way of coping I told myself, and the whiskey in my glass agreed. My only function in the morning ,to light my fire and find the bottle. The days spent alone I spent crying, unable to answer the biggest question on my mind, WHY???!!! I had to go to the place of the crash. I stood and looked at the beautiful scenery at the spot my son left this earth. I stood out on the road and looked in both directions... clear visibility both ways. How could this have happened? As I looked I saw an oncoming car approach me from the same direction in which Andy had been travelling from, suddenly it disappeared from sight and a few seconds later appeared again. The police had told me there was a hidden dip in the road and when Andy was in the dip, he could not have seen the oncoming car until both cars met on the crest of the hill. Then it was too late. But Andy had seen it and had steered for the verge on the left, but as the French driver was on the wrong side of the road, he also steered for the left ... straight into Andy. The questions came again, if only he had a puncture, if only he was late in getting away from the market, if only his car wouldn’t start and he had to borrow my jeep, would it have been different? It’s now nearly 3 months since my beloved son was killed and we still think of him every day. We still cry most days and the pain will never go away. It is now over three years since Andys death.In April 2011,Jean-Baptiste Brosset,plead guilty to causing Andys death by dangerous driving and received 200hrs community service and a driving ban for 18 months.We could not believe the sentence.He walked free from court that day,and shortly afterwards returned home to France where his driving ban was not in force.Did he ever do an hour of his community service?, we don’t know,nobody ever told us,and if he didn’t,was he extradited back from france by our government?,or was it not important enough for them to act? Or too much red tape for such a small sentence.We as a family have fought on for justice for Andy,taking our case all the way to the Houses of Parliament in London where we forced an adjournment debate live on television.You can see the full debate here, http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/house_of_commons/newsid_9736000/9736188.stm We had a meeting with the transport minister shortly after this debate was aired,where we put to him suggestions on how we can control foreign drivers entering the UK to have a device fitted in their vehicles to tell them the correct side of the road to be on whilst in this country.He promised to look into this carefully and we will again meet him in the near future,we are not prepared to let this go…..ever.We don’t just fight on for justice for Andy,but for all our loved ones we have lost,and we will never stop until the government takes extreme measures to protect us all .In June 2011,we held a memorial dance for Andy to raise money for BRAKE,we followed this on with another dance in August 2012 and August 2013.We have also created a permanent memorial to Andy at the site of the accident and it is visited by many people.We hope Andy can now rest in peace.Sadly,Andys beloved Grandfather Eric, passed away in February 2013,still determined to see justice for his grandson until his death,they are now buried together and lie at peace until we meet them again.