- People across the country were shocked last week to learn that a Georgia pedestrian who did not even own a car could be convicted of vehicular homicide in the death of her 4-year-old son, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver.
Her crime? After a long bus trip with her three young children in April 2010, Raquel Nelson did what other bus passengers did that day, and had done so many days before: She attempted to cross the road from the bus stop, which is directly opposite her apartment complex, rather than walk a third of a mile to a traffic light, cross five lanes and walk a third of a mile back, lugging tired children and groceries.
The family walked without incident to the three-foot median in the road. As they waited on the median for a break in traffic, Nelson’s son A.J. followed other adults who crossed ahead of them. He was hit by a motorist who fled and later admitted to having been drinking and taking painkillers. The driver spent six months in jail and is serving the remainder of his five-year sentence on probation. Nelson was sentenced last week to 12 months’ probation, fines and community service. She was given the option of a new trial, which she announced Thursday that she would seek.
Look - I really am very pro-pedestrian. I really, really am. But I have to lend a slightly different perspective: This is not about a woman walking across some little street. She's crossing a MAJOR roadway. This is a divided street with a raised median. I do hope that a judge will be super lenient on her given the death of a child - but seriously - SHE is to blame. I'm sorry. Sure - they tracked the guy down and he had a few - that's a contributing factor.
Sure - the bus stop was not brilliantly master planned to be nearer to her apartment.
Sure - some streets are easy to cross, and some aren't. When you step out into traffic YOU are taking the risk. Don't try to butter me up with "she's so tired" and "she's a mom" and "she doesn't have a car" and "the bus stop is so far away". There was a post on hubski a few days ago about Americans not walking enough. It's ridiculous. We had several pedestrian deaths in Colorado last year - they rivaled the election for amount of air time. Almost all of them involved some one walking in the street, not in a crosswalk. Don't put your hands on the stove and complain about getting burned. I'm sorry. I'm a parent. I get it. It's exhausting. But DON'T make it an excuse for not obeying the law, being smart, protecting your child, and teaching your child the rules of the road.cross five lanes
So what then? A fine, prison time? If the answer is, "nah, just let her be", then that's exactly what they should do. Unless this women is a completely heartless fool she knows it was her fault. That, to me, should be enough unless there is cause to believe her other children are in harms way. My guess is that this woman is never crossing a street again without there being a crossing guard.
There's no doubt - she drew the short straw in the risk vs. consequences game. A wise judge would drop the charges, dismiss the case, or give her little to no real punishment. Life (or death) has given her consequence enough. I just tire of shifting the blame to others. If the system is broken, fix it. Get a hold of your city council or the transit authority and have the bus station moved, or a signaled crosswalk halfway down the block near the current station. Nab the guy who had had a few and punish him for DUI. But please don't break the law and then refuse to own up when you meet your consequence. EDIT: after reading this - I realize I'm off a bit. I have no fault to find with the poor mom. She made a choice. She has a terrible consequence. I didn't like the tone the author takes trying to find some one else to blame for the tragedy.
I definitely see where you are coming from. I just hope people don't go down the "lets make an example of her" road. I can't imagine losing a child, especially because of a mistake I clearly made.
I walk from my home to work and to my college, both of which are about a half mile from my home. In the past 6 months or so, I've almost been run over 3 times. However, where I live there are crosswalks and stop signs everywhere. While I definitely agree that poor planning can create tragic instances like the one described in the article, I also believe drivers themselves are at fault. A lot of the times, drivers are very reckless and in a hurry. Perhaps continual driving classes would also remedy this issue?
Poor woman, I'm pretty sure she's received a greater punishment via the death of her son than anything the state can dole out. Leave her alone.