Enda Dolan was a young man with everything to live for.
Academically bright, a gifted guitarist, talented artist and champion cross country runner, the Co Tyrone teenager was just weeks into a new life when it was tragically cut short.
Enda, from Killyclogher near Omagh, was walking to his halls of residence on the Malone Road in South Belfast when he was knocked down and killed by drunk driver David Stewart in October 2014.
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It happened during his first term studying architecture at Queen's University as he was aiming to follow in his father's footsteps.
Stewart had taken drugs and up to 13 drinks - including six pints of beer and four Jagerbombs - before getting behind the wheel on 15 October 2014.
He drove with the teenager on the roof of his van for around 800 yards before stopping.
Stewart was originally sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison and the same amount of time on licence, but this was increased on appeal to four-and-a-half years behind bars and the same period on licence.
Enda's father Peter will soon be appearing in a new TV documentary to talk about the darker side of drinking culture and the sharp rise in alcohol-related deaths in Northern Ireland.
Part of the UTV’s ‘Up Close’ current affairs programme, he will feature alongside health experts, community workers, those who are overcoming alcoholism and victims of alcohol-related crime.
He recounts the night that Enda was knocked down and killed and describes the "very horrible image" of his son lying on a trolley in a small room in the hospital.
Police brought Mr Dolan and his wife, Niamh, from Omagh , to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, where they were told that Enda had been struck at speed by a van, the driver having been drinking heavily all day.
"We were brought in through A&E and into a room and it's basically like something you would see on television in that the consultant came along and a senior nurse," Peter recalled.
"Myself and Niamh were there and they said 'listen we're sorry, we've tried everything we could do but he was dead on arrival'.
"From there we were taken down to see him, into a very small room, which was probably no bigger than a store room, (with a) suspended ceiling and painted walls.
"Enda was just lying on a trolley, a blanket over his head, his clothes . . . just a very horrible image."
Mr Dolan said that image still haunts him to this day.
"He had one shoe on, the other shoe wasn't there, some of the clothes were ripped, he had a tube in his mouth, cuts on his face . . . tragic," he added.
Peter also described how Stewart was three-and-a-half-times over the legal limit and how he and his passenger failed to call an ambulance after they had knocked Enda down.
"The van mounted the pavement and carried him on the bonnet for about half a mile. The occupants of the vehicle got out, pulled him off and threw him on the side of the road and left him like a bag of rubbish.
"They drove on and came to an abrupt end when they crashed into a lamppost and that's how they were caught," he added.
"They certainly didn't call an ambulance whenever they fired him on the side of the road. They drove off and sometimes you think if an ambulance had been called, would it have made a difference?
"We were told that Enda was killed on impact so it was sudden but we will never know."
Since his son’s death, Peter Dolan has campaigned for the introduction of tougher sentences for those who cause death by dangerous driving.
In June 2016 then Justice Minister Claire Sugden announced a sentencing review and part of the review was set to examine death by dangerous driving.
Last February her successor Naomi Long said the maximum sentence for causing death through dangerous driving should be increased from 14 to 20 years.
Longer disqualification periods are also proposed.
The changes will be included in recommendations to be brought forward following the completion of the most extensive review of sentencing policy in 15 years by the Department of Justice.
The change to sentencing is pending Assembly approval during its next mandate.
Peter also successfully campaigned for a longer sentence when Stewart was convicted but despite his sentence being extended, he was caught drink driving again after his release.
Also interviewed in the programme is Alex Best, former wife of George Best who talks about life with George and her own drink driving conviction which she described as ‘devastating’.
‘Up Close – Last Orders’ will air on Tuesday, May 31, on UTV at 10.45pm, and you can catch up afterwards on www.itv.com/utprogrammes.
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