If I had a newspaper column today - this would fill it............................ Margaret Mayer was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in prison in the hit and run accident that occurred right in the middle of Houston last December. Mayers truck struck Chelsea Norman, who was riding her bike home after work, on a Sunday night near the Waugh and West Gray intersection. Chelsea died a few days after. Mayer fled the scene Sunday night and left Chelsea in the street, close to a nearby bike lane. Mayer was intoxicated that night and tried to cover up the accident. She failed. Lots of good police work and great work by the DAs office to bring some justice in this case. Thanks also goes to Mayers friends who didnt let friendship come between right and wrong and tipped police just a few days after the event. Most hit and run type cases like this go completely unsolved and never even find a suspect. Around 90% of the drivers in Houston who hit cyclists dont get as much as a simple traffic citation - this trial will hopefully send a loud and clear statement. The Norman family will get a small level of closure but Chelsea is still no longer with us. Peace unto the Normans and every other family that has lost a loved one due to someone elses careless and irresponsible behaviors.... There is a long, long way to go to get the infrastructure, laws, and attitudes in place to prevent another family from having to go through this ever repeating ordeal. One less distracted and impaired driver is off our city streets, theres a few hundred thousand out there still......cell phones use, DUI, and just general apathy are far too prevalent by drivers in and around Houston. Riding ones bike a short distance home should not be a life threatening event..... Since Chelseas death over a year ago - the death toll of vulnerable road users in Houston is still increasing, and is currently at record levels. We need to remind our city leadership to be leaders in making Houston a safer place for all vulnerable road users. Pedestrians and cyclists are using our city streets more and more every day, Metro bus and Metro light are expanding - we have to take action - now. NYC finally said enough was enough and lowered the speed limit to 25 mph in most of the inner city. Ones chance of surviving an accident increases dramatically as the speeds involved go down - in all types of accidents. Time to make intelligent changes NOW to our citys infrastructure. Yes, we have a master bike plan coming, but the fatality trend is still going up and basically our city is saying thats ok by lack of decisive action. Time to remember Chelsea once again.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 05:47:19 +0000
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