![The late Callum Dale.]()
The late Callum Dale.
A heartbroken mother has told how she desperately waved her hands in a bid to stop a car hitting her young son seconds before he was killed.
Callum Dale, who had Asperger’s Syndrome, died after he had left his home and was later hit by an oncoming car.
Thirteen year old Callum died after he was hit by the vehicle being driven by Rachel Fullerton on the outskirts of Buncrana, in March, 2014.
Ms Fullerton, 35, has gone on trial at Letterkenny Circuit Court charged with careless driving causing the death of the boy.
During a very emotional case, the dead boy’s mother relived the last moments of her son’s life.
Ms Deirdre Dale told how her son was a very smart boy and was “probably smarter than you”, as she pointed to presiding Judge John O’Hagan.
However, due to his illness, he was prone to having “eruptions” which would see him lose his temper.
The court heard Callum suffered one of these eruptions on the night he was killed on March 13th.
Callum and his dad Peter had a disagreement and the schoolboy stormed out of his home at 10 Riverdale Park, Buncrana.
The dead boy’s mother Deirdre told how she sometimes drove her son around the town in a bid to calm him down.
But instead of getting into the family’s car that night, he walked up the road and was carrying a poker.
She spent 45 minutes trying to reason with him and calm him down before tragedy struck.
Both were wearing dark clothing and it was dark outside, the court heard.
Mrs Callum revealed how her son had moved onto the road and she desperately tried to wave down the oncoming Volkswagen Meriva car being driven by Ms Fullerton close to Cockhill chapel.
Mrs Callum said she could not recall if her son was sitting or lying down on the road before he was struck by the car.
“I heard him say I’m going to sit on the road. I don’t know if he sat down or not. I stood in the road doing that (gesturing her hands to stop) but the car just kept coming. To me there was no brakes and it didn’t slow down and I jumped out of the way. I just heard a bang,” she said.
Barrister for the State, Ms Patricia McLaughlin, said that subsequent investigations after the incident had shown that the accused woman had not been drinking, had not been using her mobile phone and was not speeding before the accident.
The accused woman, Ms Fullerton, of Meentahalla, Illies, Buncrana, sat in the public gallery and became emotional throughout the evidence.
The dead boy’s father Peter told the court how himself and his wife had tried their best to cope with Callum’s condition since he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome when he was eight years old.
He told how they had been advised by the health authorities to remove all knives and other objects out of reach of Callum due to his ‘eruptions’ of anger.
He said his son suffered ‘eruptions’ but stressed that he was very apologetic and contrite after the incidents.
He said that his son had threatened to take his own life on a number of occasions.
He said that each night he tried to talk to his son for an hour each night to keep him some social stimulation which he was missing because of his illness.
On the night of his death, Callum had asked him to buy him three books on the subject of religion which he had recently become interested in.
His father said he may buy him two but because of the content of the third he was reluctant to buy the last book.
Callum then became unreasonable and then picked up a fireside poker and then attacked him and pulled some hair out.
Mum Deirdre then suggested they go for a drive in the family car and Callum calmed down and left the house with his mum.
Mr Dale then went to check on his wife and child and noticed his son was very agitated close to Cockhill Bridge and Cockhill Chapel.
He approached his son and pleaded with him to get off the road but said he could not say if his son was lying or kneeling on the road but he did not see him in these positions.
He was also hit by the car and spent some days in hospital as a result of his injuries.
Mr Dale recalled “He (Callum) became agitated and moved into the road. I became concerned and I said I would get him the book but he had switched off and wasn’t listening.
“I then saw the defendant’s car coming up the road and I said “for goodness sake get off the road” but I noticed he didn’t meet my gaze.
“I can’t remember him standing or sitting. I was conscious there was car coming but those last few seconds don’t exist anymore.
“I was hit by the car because I was protecting my boy. I can’t remember being hit but I remember spinning up in the air. I remember hitting my head. The I heard screaming. I managed to turn on my back. Deirdre said “Peter, Peter, but I couldn’t get up off the floor.”
Various other witnesses who passed the scene just before the tragedy also gave brief evidence.
The trial, before a jury of seven women and five men, is expected to last up to three days.
Ends
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