'He was my baby, he was only 21, he shouldn't have died.'

By Louise Walsh

A devastated mum whose whole world collapsed when her adored son was killed in a car crash has urged everyone to be mindful on the roads this winter.

Caroline Ginnelly who hasn't put up a Christmas tree since her son Martin died two years ago, made the plea ahead of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Accident Victims this Sunday.

The 21 year old popular young man was killed when the car in which he was a passenger was involved in a single vehicle collision just five minutes from his home at Gibbstown, Co. Meath at 3.30am on July 7th, 2018.

Heartbroken mum of four Caroline says the family are living a nightmare since that day and described her life as 'very sad and very lonely.'

"Our lives will never be the same," she said.

"I remember the doorbell going and looking at my watch to see it was 6.12am. I looked out the window and saw the garda car.

"My heart sank. I was walking up the hall and looked into Martin's room and noticed he wasn't there. I knew something had happened but it was the furthest thing from my mind that he was gone.

"Then the garda told us Martin was dead and my life, my whole world collapsed before me.

"He's my baby, he's only 21, he shouldn't have been killed.

"It's every family's nightmare and life has been hell since. I go to bed and cry, I wake up and cry. I just can't come to terms with the fact that he is never coming back.

"Life is so sad and lonely for us."

Caroline and her husband Pat said their son - who was a newly qualified heavy duty mechanic - had a huge circle of friends who have made a little memorial to him at Gibbstown Cross where he died.

"If you were having a bad day, his smile and laugh would lift you. His friends set up solar lights at the crash site and hung a Mayo jersey there. Anytime they go anywhere, they bring something back for Martin and leave it at the site. It's a huge testament to how much he was loved and is missed by so many."

As so many count down to the festive season, Caroline won't be putting up a tree this year.

"The year before he died he went to Navan and bought me a Christmas tree for the kitchen, despite already having two elsewhere in the house.

"He said this one is for you because you spend most of your time here in the kitchen and the two of us decorated it. He just loved Christmas."

"Life is precious. Cars are not toys, they can be weapons and to every road user out there, drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians, please be that little extra careful on the roads.

"A split second, a lapse of concentration or a stray glance can leave some other family, like us, in a living hell struggling to ever fully accept that they are never coming home again."