FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas — A person who was once arrested ultimate week is thought to be the first to be prosecuted beneath Texas’ Lisa Torry Smith Act, which is repeatedly referred to because the Crosswalk Act.
Bao Giang was once arrested and charged on Friday. Authorities mentioned Giang was once using the car that hit Don Yeager whilst he was once strolling his canine in a crosswalk within the New Territory subdivision round 8 a.m. Yeager was once flown to a space medical institution however died about an hour after he was once hit via Giang’s car.
“Everyone driving a car should understand that the minute you put your hands on the steering wheel and you press on that gas, you are handling a deadly weapon,” Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton mentioned.
The legislation is known as after Lisa Torry Smith, who was once strolling her son to college in 2017 when she was once struck and killed via a car.
“Even thinking of it today, I still remember it like it was yesterday,” Lisa’s widower, Elliot Smith, mentioned.
Smith mentioned the motive force who hit his spouse wasn’t paying consideration on the time.
“Less than an hour earlier, I said good goodbye then she was gone. It’s devastating to be honest with you,” Smith mentioned.
The legislation makes it unlawful to fail to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian who is obviously in a marked crosswalk. It additionally required drivers to come to a complete forestall for any pedestrians or cyclists who’re in an intersection. It’s no longer a legal offense for a motorist to reason critical physically damage to a pedestrian who is legally in a crosswalk.
The legislation was once drafted via Middleton, who were given Rep. Ron Reynolds and Sen. Joan Huffman to sponsor the law in 2021. Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into legislation on June 18, 2021.
“We have a real problem in our county,” Middleton mentioned. “We are hearing multiple reports of motorists completely ignoring pedestrians in crosswalks across the county, including children in school zones. I pushed this in the media and had my investigators enforce the law at local schools within the past two weeks alone. Our county is better than this. Drive respectfully and responsibly and save lives.”
In the previous, failing to yield to pedestrians wasn’t against the law in itself. Now, if a pedestrian is struck and injured whilst in a crosswalk, the motive force may face prison time. It’s no longer against the law if the one who is hit was once jaywalking on the time. The legislation additionally covers folks in crosswalks on bicycles and in wheelchairs.
Giang’s reputable rate is “accident involving a pedestrian in a crosswalk.”
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