AUSTIN (KXAN) — Gina Torry remembers the conversations around crosswalk safety.
It was right after her sister Lisa Torry Smith’s death in October 2017 near Houston.
“She was walking her 6-year-old son to school through a crosswalk right close to the school when she was struck and killed,” said Torry.
She added that her nephew was severely injured but survived. Officials tell KXAN investigators the driver that hit and killed Smith was not charged.
Torry explained that her family knew something had to change. They appealed to lawmakers and pushed for a crosswalk safety law.
“Every single person that we spoke to whether they were a Democrat or Republican or Independent, everybody has crossed the street at some point in their life,” said Torry. “And everyone, no matter which party they were affiliated with, was shocked, frankly, to hear that under Texas law, it wasn’t a crime to kill someone or injure someone in a crosswalk.”
Lisa Torry Smith Act
Nearly 4 years after Smith’s death, Torry said her grieving family traveled to the Texas Capitol and testified about the need for accountability.
The Lisa Torry Smith Act became law in September 2021, making it a crime to kill or injure a pedestrian, cyclist or other crosswalk user. Drivers who violate the law could face a Class C misdemeanor traffic violation to a state jail felony if the violation causes serious bodily injury.
“This law is designed that it could be a more jail time if it’s more of a severe case — if someone is driving, they’re not paying attention that they kill someone, they can be sent to prison,” explained State Representative Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City.
Reynolds authored the bill in the House. He lives in the neighborhood where Smith was killed.
“Lisa was my constituent — she lived in my district,” he said. “It was very personal for me because I have young children that I have walked to school before.”
Beyond criminal consequences, the law also requires drivers to stop and yield to a pedestrian who is in a marked crosswalk. In Austin, after the law went into effect, signs were posted alerting drivers to stop for pedestrians within the crosswalk.
Enforcement concerns
The crosswalk law went into effect more than two years ago, but few cases have been filed.
Since early January, KXAN investigators have repeatedly emailed and called Austin Police asking about the implementation of the law. The department said it has filed one case after the law went into effect, but did not provide details. KXAN was told to submit a Public Information Request, which is still being processed.
When asked why only one case has been filed and if there have been any limitations to enforcing the law, a spokesperson responded in an email, “Every case is unique and assessed based on its own specific merits. In certain instances, APD may pursue a more severe charge if it is appropriate, while in other cases, the law may not be applicable to the circumstances. It is important to note that APD carefully reviews and engages in discussions with local prosecutors to ensure that we make well-informed decisions regarding filing of charges.”
Austin cyclist Michael Passman has been pushing APD and the Travis County District Attorney’s office to investigate his case under the law and charge the driver who hit him in October.
Michael Passman was riding his bicycle on October 15th when he said he was hit by a car at an Austin intersection. (KXAN Photo/Arezow Doost)
“The police explained to me that they couldn’t ticket him because there weren’t any witnesses who saw him hit me in the crosswalk. And I sent them the footage that proves I was hit in the crosswalk,” said Passman to KXAN Investigators in December.
Passman first shared his struggle to prove his case with insurance. He said the driver’s insurance finally settled for damages to his bike and most recently his injury, but he added that the driver needs to be held accountable.
“The law is toothless if it’s not enforced,” he said.
A records request to the Travis County District Attorney’s office shows three cases have been filed under the offense of accident involving a pedestrian-road user in crosswalk. The DA’s office confirmed one case has been prosecuted under the Lisa Torry Smith Act so far. Court documents show the defendant pleaded guilty last May for striking and killing a pedestrian in a crosswalk and was sentenced to five years’ probation. The DA’s office said he could now face jail time for violating probation.
As for the other two cases, records show police have charged a man in a hit and run involving two pedestrians and have issued an arrest warrant.
Push for awareness and education
“It’s great that it’s on the books, but if it’s not being enforced, we might as well not have it,” said attorney Charlie Thomas.
He’s the Texas representative for Bike Law, a network of bicycle crash lawyers across the country, which has handled thousands of personal injury cases on behalf of cyclists. Thomas shared that in one of his recent cases in Houston, there’s video of a woman hit by a car last July, yet the driver was not cited or charged under the law.
“Between our pedestrian cases, and our bicycle cases, we probably have about five active cases,” Thomas said. “And we haven’t seen a citation given for a violation of the Lisa Torry Smith Act in any of them.”
In Fort Bend County, where Smith lived, the District Attorney’s office said it’s currently reviewing two auto-pedestrian deaths that occurred one week apart in different areas of the county. No cases have been filed at this point.
“We believe in evidence-based prosecution, so we are not going to rush to a charging decision because these facts are tragic or because we want to prove a point under the LTS Act. If the evidence supports the charges, they will come. If not, they won’t,” explained Wesley Wittig, Second Assistant District Attorney in Fort Bend County.
Wittig said his office has applied for a Texas Department of Transportation grant for pedestrian safety. If awarded, it will help fund public awareness, training for law enforcement, and overtime for law enforcement so their presence can be increased in crosswalks during high-risk times.
Vision Zero, a City of Austin strategy to end traffic-related deaths and serious injuries, is tracking pedestrian and cyclist deaths and injuries. Last year there were more than 36 pedestrians killed and nearly 66 seriously injured. Crash data shows 6 bicyclist fatalities and more than 24 serious injuries.
BikeTexas, a state bicycle advocacy and education organization based in Austin, pushed for the law and is working on developing materials to spread awareness of the law.
“I don’t believe this bill is primarily about ticketing; insurance companies can settle claims differently when they see that someone had broken the law. So, it can make a big difference for victims that need some help with their medical bills. And so, I think that there is progress being made, even if there aren’t many tickets written yet,” explained Robin Stallings, Executive Director of BikeTexas.
After her sister’s death, Torry founded Citizens for Road Safety Texas. She said the organization is now tracking how the law is being implemented.
“The most difficult part is right now — is moving the words off paper and into action and getting those who are elected to protect the citizens of Texas to actually implement Texas law,” said Torry.
KXAN investigators asked Reynolds if any changes need to be made to the law. He said it’s too early to tell but he believes awareness and education will be key.
“I believe that the prosecutors have the tools that they can hold people accountable so that the families know that their loved one was — life was not in vain,” he added.
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