I can never repay the first responders, says road death boy’s dad

THE father of an eight-year-old Co Londonderry boy who lost his life after being struck by a car has said he can “never repay” the emergency services and first responders for the help they gave to his young son.

Daniel Bradley, who had autism, died in the incident last Thursday night and was laid to rest on Sunday.

The collision occurred near the entrance to a service station on Maghera’s Glenshane Road.

His father James

(36), a well-known singer-songwriter, previously told the Belfast Telegraph how he and his wife Janice cradled their son in their arms and kissed him in the ambulance after he passed away.

Yesterday, in an emotion- al social media tribute, Mr Bradley said that his son’s “memory and life lives on” through the time they spent together, and the people he “touched along the way”.

He wrote: “Last Thursday evening our lives changed forever, as our wee ‘Dan The Man’ left this world for his very own Neverland. His autism didn’t stop him from being the perfect little boy he was.

“Through it, he taught us how to step into his world and try to make sense of all he experienced, and with his help he showed us what true love and family spirit was.”

James thanked the community and medics who had supported the family. He stated: “To our community, friends, family — we can never repay your generosity, what you all did over the past few days was just inspiring and taught us all to remember that our community is family. To all the emergency services and those who were first responders — we can never repay what you did in those first few moments, to help our Daniel not suffer and rest in peace.” And the grieving dad, who posted a video of himself and Daniel singing the Coldplay song ‘Fix You’ in the aftermath of his son’s death, added: “You will be missed, remembered and we will sing again.” ‘Perfect boy’: eight-year-old Daniel Bradley