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.