Mother honors 11-year-old boy hit and killed on World Remembrance Day for Traffic Victims
TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. - Activists and survivors gathered over the weekend to share their stories and discuss potential change to the Bay Area, which has one of the highest pedestrian crash-related traffic death rates in the country.
Clutching a picture of her beautiful little boy, Christopher Cramer, Crystal Evans stayed strong as she took the stage to share the tragic story of how he was killed while riding his bike in Palm Harbor last August.
"My son and his dad were going to get Slurpies," Evans recalled. "It was a Sunday afternoon, and he was on the sidewalk, and a truck pulling a boat trailer swerved, and instantly killed him."
Evans told FOX 13 that her son was always smiling, was an honor-roll student who loved to draw and was a perfect son. As Sunday marked World Remembrance Day for Traffic Victims, she walked for him.
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"I'm here to honor him and the beautiful person he was, but I'm also here to advocate for safer roads and for people to pay attention," Evans stressed.
Those same reasons are what drove other crash survivors and local advocates to Treasure Island Beach for an event where they listened to each other's experiences, spoke about future change, and walked along Gulf To Bay Blvd holding signs with emotional messages like "stop the carnage" and "I want to live."
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That same road is where organizer Julie Henning, was once struck by a garbage truck while riding her bicycle. She and Evans walked hand in hand, as Henning pulled a wagon holding her crushed bike from that day.
"I keep this bicycle to basically symbolize to others how impactful a crash can be," Henning said. "When you see it, you say 'Thank gosh, you're lucky to be alive,' I mean I'm basically a walking miracle."
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According to the Florida Department of Transportation's "Crash Dashboard", in Pinellas County alone, there have been more than 500 bicycle vs car crashes this year and more than 400 pedestrian crashes.
While leaders have achieved feats like getting approval to restructure certain Pinellas County roads for safety purposes, and are pushing hands-free driving legislation to Tallahassee, everyone in attendance agreed, that there's still a lot to be done.
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"My son is gone," Evans said with tears in her eyes. "My whole life changed. I don't want another family to have to go through what I have to go through when I wake up, and he's not there."
The group encourages people to go to www.handsfreeflorida.org and www.forwardpinellas.org to learn more.