(Click on the image for Meredith Tomason's opinion in The Washington Post)
"My life changed on a perfectly sunny October morning in 2018 when my mother stepped out to buy a hairbrush and never came back. She was struck by the driver of a pickup truck while crossing at 15th and H streets NW, with a new hairbrush in hand. For the past 23 months, I have carried the weight of these seemingly simple activities — stepping out for an errand and crossing the street to return from the store — and the emotional, physical and spiritual trauma that traffic violence has had on my family.
My mother’s death could have been prevented. There are engineering and legislative solutions that must be implemented to ensure that no other family experiences the grief and trauma that I have needlessly endured."
Note, this happened to Meredith Tomason's mother in D.C. but it could happen to any pedestrian on our highways too. In Meredith's words, "Fear should not be the feeling that comes to mind while walking our city streets, pandemic or otherwise."