Minutes before a high speed car collision caused injuries which shattered his life, keen rugby player Rohan Mukherjee was frightened and asked the driver to slow down.



The driver was Darren Leonard, 19, from Killadeas Road, Enniskillen, who sent his mother's sports car airborne and crashing into trees at 80mph. For this he was given an eight-month jail sentence shortly before Christmas and banned from driving for four years.
A year after the accident, Rohan says he remembers the fear and how he clutched onto the dashboard.
"He was going around corners without slowing down and going over bumps without slowing down. That's not on. I knew something was going to happen, that's why I told him to slow down. He didn't listen, so the accident happened," said Rohan.
"And since that, my whole life has been turned upside down because of that accident. I can't go out to university, I can't go back to employment, I can't do anything," he said.
Leonard pleaded guilty at Omagh Crown Court to taking his mother's Nissan 350Z sports car without her permission and driving it dangerously on the Killadeas Road, causing grievous bodily injury to Rohan.
Judge Desmond Marrinan told him: "We have all made mistakes we are not proud of, but by and large people are not punished for youthful mistakes, but in this case, your youthful misjudgment has had terrible consequences."
Rohan, a 21-year-old Enniskillen man, was in intensive care at the Erne and Royal Victoria hospitals for over four months with his parents at his bedside, and later transferred to Musgrave Park Hospital for rehabilitation and ongoing treatment.
There are mental scars, pain and anxiety. Rohan suffered head injuries and his memory is affected. He had a broken pelvis and ribs, and partial blindness. Today he uses his phone to help remember names, numbers and people, and keeps a diary so that he can have memories. He also struggles to recall some words.
Rohan says that since the accident it has been distressing to hear of the loss of young lives in Northern Ireland. Shortly after Rohan talked to the News Letter, 22-year-old Siobhan Maughan and her 16-year-old brother Tommy were killed in Enniskillen in a New Year's Eve smash.
Rohan said: "Every time I hear in the news, in the papers, on radio, or TV, that someone has been killed on the roads in Fermanagh, it sends a shiver down my spine."
Before the collision, he held his provisional driving licence and was taking lessons, but now he is too fearful to resume lessons.
His message to all drivers is to slow down and behave responsibly towards passengers, other roads users and yourself.
"Watch what you do, don't be stupid. You may be fed-up hearing it from your elders, but be careful, people only have one life and it is so easy to lose it."
Rohan said he is now very aware that life can be taken in an instant, and after a fatal smash friends and relatives are only left with memories of that life and that person. And that is not good enough in his book. He wants young people to live a full life.
Mum Anita, also appealed for young people behind the wheel to take more responsibility.
She insists that people in Northern Ireland should not have to accept that young people get killed on the roads.
"As a mother I can't accept that, and we have to try to make young people understand that. The moment a person gets a driving licence, they should have a responsible attitude," she said.
Rohan, a first year business studies student at the University of Ulster, says he has to be vigilant when walking near traffic and still dreads travelling in cars.
"I have so many constraints, I can't play sports, I can't be left alone, I always need someone to look after me. My independent living is gone. I cannot do half the things young people my age do," he said.
"I'm a 21-year-old man and I have to be looked after by my parents; that is not right," he said.
He had hoped to develop a career in human resources or marketing, but has had to change his plans for now. He may pursue a career in computing, as it may prove more accessible for him. Much will depend on his improvements and recovery, he said.
Another loss is Rohan's inability to indulge his passion for sport, especially playing rugby - previously he had played for Enniskillen Rugby Club Under-18s team.
"This whole year, I have been reflecting more than anything," he said.
Rohan has spent the past year trying to rebuild his life through rehabilitation.