A mum's pain of watching her son die in front of her on her birthday all came back as she saw the aftermath of a crash last week. Bobby Colleran was just six years old when he died after being hit by a van in October 2014.
Ahead of the eight-year anniversary of the tragedy, his mum Joanne insists the grief does not get any easier with time. It all came back to the 43-year-old as she saw a teenage boy had been knocked off his electric bike by a car in Liverpool last Tuesday (September 20).
The incident in West Derby left the youngster with a serious head injury and he was rushed to hospital, the Liverpool Echo reports. Joanne, who had been dropping her other three sons off at school, said: "It's bizarre because we were just there as it had happened but your whole inside turns over.
"You think whoever it is, their parents, their family, I hope they're ok. You kind of go through all of your emotions again and then it just puts stuff in your mind.
"I used to love September/October, the run up to autumn, it was one of my favourite times of year - and now the minute the chill comes in the air it's horrible. I just relive everything, everyday - what we were doing when he was here."
Joanne says 'every milestone' now reminds her of Bobby. He was struck by a van on Leyfield Road, in West Derby, on a day which the family should have been celebrating.
Speaking ahead of the anniversary of Bobby's death, Joanne said: "It is a difficult day. What makes it harder is it's my birthday on the day he died.
"People say grief gets easier and it doesn't. It's like every milestone, everything that happens you're like where is he? He was the middle one of the kids."
Joanne set up the Bobby Colleran Trust shortly after Bobby's death to campaign for better road safety on roads across the city. Back in March last year, the charity announced the launch of its ‘Take Care for Bobby’ campaign to support the mental health of children and young people in the Liverpool City Region.
The impact on the mental health of Bobby’s siblings led Joanne to spearhead the improvement of accessible therapy for young people by providing counselling services in schools and children’s centres. After hearing about the campaign, Joe Rogerson decided to take part in the Ironman Challenge in Italy on Sunday, September 18, with all money raised going to the Bobby Colleran Trust.
The Ironman Challenge consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile cycle and a marathon 26.2-mile run, which Joe completed in 15 hours 12 minutes. Joe, originally from Jersey and living in Kirkdale, said: "I've got three kids myself so I just thought that would be the right charity and they were over the moon."
The Bobby Colleran Trust is set to open its own centre next to Blackmoor Park Infant School in West Derby in the coming months, where it will run additional counselling sessions from. To visit or donate to Joe's Just Giving page click here.
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