Family mark anniversary of death of Rishi (From thisisoxfordshire)

Family mark anniversary of death of Rishi

10:30am Wednesday 28th July 2010

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HE was the “life and soul of the party”.

That’s how Rishi Khera’s family want to remember the 21-year-old whose life was cut short by a car crash two years ago.

The sun shone as more than 70 friends and family members gathered to enjoy music, a bouncy castle and a barbecue outside the Khera family home in Lockheart Crescent, Cowley, on Monday.

Susan Khera lost her eldest son in 2008 when his silver BMW hit the Littlemore roundabout on Oxford’s Eastern Bypass and was flung through the air before hitting a lorry on the opposite side of the roundabout.

An inquest heard Mr Khera did not have a driving licence, was over the drink-drive limit, was speeding and not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.

Yesterday, Father Richard Chand, of the Cowley parish town ministry, said a prayer for Mr Khera before family and friends toasted his memory with a glass of Champagne.

Later, the family released a single white dove in memory of the former Temple Cowley and St Augustine’s School pupil, who had become engaged to his girlfriend just three days before his death.

Mrs Khera, 40, said: “I can’t believe it is two years, my heart won’t accept he has gone. I just keep thinking he is going to walk through the door.

“There is not a day that goes by without us talking about him or thinking about him.

“He was a bubbly person and a flirty person. He would have done a barbecue for any occasion.”

Mrs Khera, who has worn her son’s ‘21’ necklace around her neck since his death, added: “Rishi was always my number one, always.”

To commemorate the first anniversary of Mr Khera’s death last year, his family opened a memorial playground by a primary school in the city of Kapurthala in the Punjab region of India, home to Mr Khera’s grandparents.

The playground, which cost about £20,000, features a three-tier water fountain with coloured spotlights, a slide, a see-saw and a roundabout.

Mrs Khera said: “Rishi loved India and went every year of his life. He always loved children but never had any of his own.”

Cousin Robert Bahl, 27, from Coventry, said: “Rishi was the life and soul of the party whenever we went out, but he was also very generous.

“He was all about his family and had endless amounts of love for them. This is what he would have wanted.”

Brother Vikash, 14, said: “He was a joker. He always used to make people laugh and he never used to be sad.”

Neighbour Lin Jones, 58, of Bartholomew Road, said: “Rishi was a lovely bloke and had just met a nice girl.

“It was just a complete shock really when it happened. They are a nice family and they have done Rishi proud today.”

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