Pedestrians Seem to be Nothing but Ghosts to too Many Drivers …

“Pedestrians seem to be nothing but ghosts to too many drivers … You seem not to count. You seem not to exist. Your value is $500.” - Andres Zamora 

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Could anything be more heartbreaking?

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Tennessee Drivers Could Face Stiffer Penalties For Injuring Pedestrians And For Texting

By TONY GONZALEZ • MAR 14, 2016

Tennessee senators advanced two bills Monday that would increase penalties against drivers.


The first would address drivers who kill or injure pedestrians by failing to yield. The new penalty would be up to a year in jail and a fine of nearly $3,000. Currently, the maximum is no jail time and $500 — which is a modification of standard misdemeanor sentencing.

Nashville Sen. Jeff Yarbro brought the bill in honor of 17-year-old Elena Zamora, a Hume Fogg High School student who was killed by a truck driver in 2013.

Her father, Vanderbilt University Spanish professor Andres Zamora, offered an emotional plea in favor of the tougher penalty, describing the loss of his daughter as a “mutilation” to her friends and family.

“A city with only cars and no pedestrians might be full of noises and roar, but it has only the feeling of a ghost town,” he said.

“Pedestrians seem to be nothing but ghosts to too many drivers … You seem not to count. You seem not to exist. Your value is $500.”

http://nashvillepublicradio.org/post/tennessee-drivers-could-face-stiffer-penalties-injuring-pedestrians-and-texting#stream/0