A heartbroken mother has told how her autistic son died when he ran into a busy road after she accidentally unlocked her car while turning her back for just a matter of seconds.
Janice Bradley, 35, from Maghera, County Londonderry, was on her way home with her nine-year-old son Daniel on September 20, 2018, when she pulled into a service station to pick up some milk.
She was only going to be a couple of minutes, so she left Daniel locked in the car, belted safely into his booster seat.
But while she was in the shop, she heard her car alarm going off. Assuming Daniel had triggered the sensors, she pressed a button on her key fob to silence it.
Tragically though, Janice hit the wrong button, unlocking the car and allowing Daniel to run out onto a 50mph stretch of the busy A6 linking Belfast and Derry. The little boy was killed instantly when he ran out in front of an oncoming car.
Janice Bradley, 35, from Northern Ireland, was on her way home with her nine-year-old son Daniel (pictured) on September 20, 2018, when she pulled into a service station to pick up some milk
While Janice was in the shop, she heard her car alarm going off. She assumed Daniel (pictured tucking into jelly and ice-cream aged eight) had triggered the sensors and clicked ‘unlock’
Janice hit the wrong button, unlocking the car and allowing Daniel to run out into the path of an oncoming car. Tragically, Daniel died – and was buried in his favourite Peter Pan costume (pictured) – that he had worn for World Book Day earlier that year
Now, Janice is sharing Daniel’s story to raise awareness of the difficulties of parenting a child with autism, saying she’d always feared that one day he’d ‘get the better of her’.
‘I needed eyes in the back of my head,’ she said. ‘It took some time and some counselling, but I’ve finally stopped blaming myself for Daniel’s death.
‘I’m telling his story to raise awareness of how tough and lonely it can be to parent a child with autism. So many people just don’t understand their needs or why they might react differently.’
‘If telling Daniel’s story can help prevent tragedy for just one other family, it’s worth it. That’s his legacy.’
Daniel was diagnosed with autism on his third birthday; May 3, 2013. He’d been missing his milestones and not interacting like other children at the same age.
Janice says she threw herself into researching everything she could about the spectrum disorder.
Daniel was diagnosed with autism on his third birthday; May 3, 2013. He’d been missing his milestones and not interacting like other children at the same age (pictured with Janice)
Daniel attended a special school, Kilronan Primary in Magherafelt (pictured in his uniform), where he mostly enjoyed his art lessons
The car Daniel ran in front of was driven by a nurse who immediately started CPR to try to save him. But he had died instantly from a head wound (pictured during a walk with Janice)
‘Daniel grew into such a loving little boy, with a smile that lit up the room,’ she recalled. ‘He adored cuddles and would even throw his arms around strangers.
‘One of my favourite times of day was bedtime. Autistic children thrive on routine, so at 8pm he’d fetch a story for me to read, or I’d sing to him.’
As Daniel grew, he attended a special school, Kilronan Primary in Magherafelt, where he most enjoyed art lessons.
His autism meant he was very sensory; at his happiest watching colourful Disney movies like Tangled or sinking his hands into Play-Doh.
‘At weekends he loved our afternoons sat in Costa, savouring a hot chocolate and gingerbread man, watching the world go by,’ said Janice.
‘But he was easily spooked by noises so I’d settle his wee ear defenders on his head to protect him from the bustle.’
After she accidentally unlocked her car Daniel ran out and into the shop. But when he got spooked he ran into the path of a car (pictured with Janice at a wedding)
Daniel’s autism meant he was very sensory and was at his happiest watching colourful Disney movies like Tangled or sinking his hands into Play-Doh (pictured on his ninth birthday)
‘When Daniel got upset or panicked he had a tendency to bolt. I rarely took him out without safety reins strapping his wrist to mine. I often worried that one day he’d get the better of me.
‘He was particularly naïve around traffic – I tried so many times to teach him the green cross code, telling him to look left and right, but he just couldn’t grasp that roads could be dangerous.’
On the evening of September 20, 2018, Janice was driving home in her red Seat when she pulled into a service station off the A6 Glenshane Road to grab a pint of milk.
‘Daniel was buckled into his car seat, so I told him to stay there and gave him my phone so he could watch a lumberjack video,’ Janice explained.
‘I was standing at the fridges when I heard my car alarm going off. Fumbling for my key, I pressed the lock button to stop the noise.
‘Moments later I heard a scuffle at the front of the shop. There was Daniel! I must have hit the button to unlock the car by accident.
‘I called to him in my special singsong voice, trying to keep him calm, but he grabbed a troll glow stick from a display near the counter and bolted back out of the door as the shopkeeper shouted after him.’
Janice rushed to the front of the shop and explained that her son had autism and she’d fetch him back, before heading for the door. But she was met in the doorway by a woman in distress.
‘She put her hands up to stop me,’ said Janice. ‘She was white as a ghost, saying that a wee boy had been knocked down.
‘I pushed past her and ran across the forecourt. I could see a commotion out on the main road – cars were stopping and there was a woman crouching over a body on the tarmac, administering CPR.
‘I screamed Daniel’s name. He was flat on his back, with one trainer on and the other at the side of the road.’
It turned out that Daniel had run in front of a car driven by an off-duty nurse, so she had already started trying to resuscitate him.
Paramedics arrived and he was declared dead at the scene, killed instantly by a massive head injury.
Janice said Daniel’s favourite time of day was 8pm when he used to choose a book for her to read to him (pictured enjoying cuddles at bedtime)
Janice explained that when Daniel got upset or panicked he would run away – and so she always needed to use safety reigns to keep him close. Pictured with his assistant dog, Ebony
Daniel was buried in his favourite Peter Pan costume – that he had worn for World Book Day earlier that year.
‘As we planned his funeral, I expected police to turn up at my door any moment and cart me off in handcuffs for being a terrible mother,’ said Janice.
‘Friends tried to soothe me, saying they often left their kids in the car when they popped into the shop. But I was inconsolable. If only I’d not hit the wrong button on my car key.
‘For weeks after his death I barely left the house, spending hours sitting in his bedroom, sniffing his t-shirts to try to feel close to him.’
An inquest ruled that Daniel’s death was accidental. Janice knew the service station had cameras so she asked to see the CCTV footage.
‘It clearly showed Daniel sitting in his booster seat in the back of my car,’ she explained. ‘But after I went into the shop, he threw away my mobile phone and unbuckled himself, before climbing into the passenger seat and banging his hands against the window, setting off the alarm.
‘Then the car’s lights flashed as I hit the key fob, accidentally unlocking the doors. Daniel was out of the vehicle like a shot.
‘I’m sharing this story to stop any other family suffering the same heartache. Such a simple mistake ended in terrible tragedy – and nothing can ever bring my boy back.’