Parents of Derbyshire teenager left for dead in hit-and-run create registered charity in his memory

The parents of a Derbyshire teenager left for dead by a hit-and-run driver have raised more than £50,000 in his memory to help bereaved families and young people.

Peter and Beverley Barry lost their 15-year-old son Adam just six days after Peter’s mum died, leaving the family facing two devastating bereavements within a week.

Now, through the Adam Barry Foundation, the Sandiacre couple are keeping their son’s kindness and love of music alive by funding music lessons, supporting bereavement services and helping young people experience the activities he loved.

Adam, a pupil at Friesland School, was cycling home on Derby Road, between Borrowash and Risley, on April 25, 2020, when he was struck by a car driven by an HGV driver who had been drinking at an illegal lockdown party.

The driver continued home without stopping or calling for medical assistance, leaving Adam critically injured on a grass verge. Adam was taken to Queen’s Medical Centre but died from his injuries.

The family had been arranging Peter’s mum’s funeral that same day. When they went to the hospital’s chapel of rest, they faced the unimaginable sight of Adam and his grandmother lying alongside one another.

Peter said: “We were already grieving for my mum and organising her funeral when Adam was killed. Suddenly, everything in our lives had been destroyed.

“It’s more than six years on and out life has been completely decimated. It was like a nuclear bomb went off and destroyed everything in our lives, literally. 

“You can’t turn back time or change what happened. But through the foundation, we can do something positive in Adam’s name and make sure he isn’t forgotten.”

Beverley added: “Having the foundation gives us that purpose to keep on going when we just don't want to. It stops us from going ‘lights out, take us now’.”

The foundation reflects the interests and character of a teenager his parents describe as full of energy, empathy and enthusiasm for life.

Adam loved playing his guitar, riding his bike and making other people smile. His parents want more young people to experience those same opportunities, particularly when the cost of instruments, lessons or equipment might otherwise prevent them from taking part.

During lockdown, Adam taught himself to play guitar, progressing from an acoustic instrument to an electric guitar.

His passion lives on through the Adam Barry Music Fund at Friesland School, which helps pupils access instruments and tuition they might otherwise be unable to afford.

For the couple, one school performance brought home the difference the music fund was making.

They had been unsure whether they could face attending without their own son on stage. During the interval, however, they met the mother of a boy playing guitar.

Beverley said: “She told us her husband had died and that her son wouldn’t have been up there without the music fund paying for his tuition.

“We came away smiling. It reminded us why we’re doing this – giving other young people opportunities that Adam should still be here enjoying.”

Having experienced first-hand the importance of Treetops Hospice’s bereavement support, the family made its counselling services one of the foundation’s first beneficiaries.

Its work has since grown to include donations to Derby charity Revive and funding for bikes for the Brownlee Foundation.

Their latest pledge is a donation of £1,200 to Derbyshire bereavement charity Right Beside Me, founded by another bereaved mum Jeanette Ashworth, whose son Nathan died aged 27, following a motorcycling accident.

The charity offers memorial gifts, meet-ups for bereaved adults and Nathan’s Grief Club for children and young adults at Derby Child Contact Centre.

Peter said: “We know how much bereavement takes from you, and how important it is to have people around who understand.

“We were fortunate to have people help us get the foundation started. Now we want to help another charity be there for families who need that support.”

The couple are inviting individuals and businesses to support the foundation through donations, fundraising challenges and sponsorship.

Beverley added: “Every young person who gets to play an instrument and every family helped through grief means something good is happening in Adam’s name.

“He brought so much happiness to people. We want that to carry on.”

To donate or find out more, visit adambarry.foundation.