Monday, February 9, 2015

Stop! Take Notice


On January 26, 2015 a Hume-Fogg sophomore, Muhammad Ali, was injured when car entered  the sidewalk and struck him in Nashville. The recent wreck happened a few blocks from the High School and brought back memories of 17 year old Elena Zamora, who was struck and killed December 19, 2013 while crossing, in the crosswalk, at Rosa Parks Boulevard and Church Street.

Ali was struck while walking on the sidewalk at 5th Av N and Church St by a 21 year old uninsured man named James Welti, of Nashville. Welti, was at the wheel, when he suffered a seizure. His passenger was unable to gain control of the vehicle.

Acording to The Tennessean:


'An ambulance took Ali to Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt for treatment of his injuries, including broken bones in his legs and back and a ruptured spleen, the report said.

The driver and his passenger told officers that Welti started seizing while he was behind the wheel, and the passenger tried but was unable to take control of the car, the report said. Welti was taken to a hospital to be checked out and cited for not having proof of insurance, the report said.'

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Now, if you have a known seizure disorder, you have restrictions on driving. According to Epilepsy.com, which has a state by state review of these rules:

In Tennessee, 'A person with epilepsy must be seizure free for a period of one year and have a favorable doctor’s recommendation before applying for a license. However, an individual whose seizures have been controlled for six months may be approved for driving privileges if the Department of Safety receives a favorable recommendation from the individual’s physician and the Medical Review Board, and the person may be required to submit to additional evaluations as the Department sees fit'.

If anyone out there knows James and knows his history (does he have epilepsy?) this would be an important fact and could lead to further charges.  

http://www.epilepsy.com/driving-laws/2008851


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From The Tennessean:

About a dozen Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School students are renewing their efforts to improve pedestrian safety in Nashville after a car recently hit and seriously injured a student.

The group of teens, who launched the Stop! Take Notice pedestrian safety campaign in October, want to put on a school assembly and a community forum this spring in hopes of raising awareness and creating solutions to prevent future tragedies in downtown Nashville.

The students are primarily members of the senior class and they became passionate about pedestrian safety after their classmate Elena Zamora was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer on Dec. 19, 2013. Zamora, 17, was hit while walking in a crosswalk at Rosa Parks Boulevard and Church Street.

"There's always stuff that you want to change, but this is something that I felt like by being part of this group that I could start to make a change," said senior Caroline Lawrence, who was on the cross country team with Zamora.

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