Adele Robey
Washington, DC
In July 2018, I waited for the light and crossed the street at MLK Blvd and Good Hope Road. A driver making a left-hand turn hit me from behind. She was on the phone and wasn’t looking. I was lying there trying to process what had happened, when it dawned on me that I’d just been hit by a car.
My knee is still a problem. Nothing obvious, but still a big problem. It had a severe impact on my life. I’m a very active person. Busy all the time working two jobs, and never had any mobility issues. Because of someone’s carelessness and not paying attention, that got taken away from me. It’s a nightmare now. I’m terrified of crossing the street and going up stairs, because I don’t trust my knee. It angers me when I’m frightened. I resent that. It’s been life changing.
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Carol Tomason
Washington, DC
We’re a close family, and my parents would come once a month and stay in the same hotel. It was a sunny, beautiful day, and my mother ran to the store to buy a hairbrush and was hit by a driver of a pickup truck turning left through the crosswalk. My parents were married for 47 years. They had just been talking about how lucky they were—no one had gotten sick, everyone seemed happy—and this happened.
We’re all still trying to figure out how to put one foot in front of the other. My father is trying to grieve but his best friend and support system is gone, and it’s terrifying. It was a terrible day, there’s no way around it, and it’s been terrible since. That’s just the way it is.
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Jasmine Zhao
Rosslyn, VA
It was really like any other day, a normal day. I thought he could see me—I was right in front of him in the middle of the crosswalk. It happened so fast that I couldn’t keep my balance. I felt like the entire world was dark. I thought I was going to die.
I walked like a penguin for months. Finally, I walked like a normal person, but I was scared of the streets. The physical pain passes, but it was traumatic. I understand that I went through this and I should recover, I should be able to get over this. But when you’re really in fear it’s much harder.
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Mike Doyle
Alexandria, VA
It was dusk, people were in a rush, it was the holiday season. I’m cautious by nature, but I was halfway through the intersection crosswalk when I heard somebody yell ‘look out!’ The next thing I knew, I was on top of this SUV, but the driver hit me with such impact that I went out. I was dragged a little bit and then I was on the ground with people around me.
I had months of neuro rehab. My wife became my 24/7 nurse, and it probably took me over a year to get as much toward normal as I can get. Today I still have issues with my balance, and when I get up every morning my leg aches. I own my own firm, I have two partners, and this hurt everybody.
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Aysha Ghadiali
Washington, DC
On Friday, December 7, 2018, I crossed 14th Street at the Riggs Street, NW intersection, on a marked pedestrian crosswalk without a traffic light. Three drivers stopped for me to cross, but one illegally drove through the crosswalk and struck me. I was knocked down but stayed conscious. A crowd gathered and called an ambulance and the police.
I had multiple fractures on my face: my nose and my left cheek, which was indented. These facial fractures required surgery in order to chew and breathe normally. I also had four fractures in my left foot, and one fracture in my right fibula. I needed a wheelchair and could not eat solid food for a few months. I had stitches, puncture wounds and bruises. Today, I am fortunate to walk with small scars on my legs to remind me of one DC rush hour commute, because I survived when nearly 90 pedestrians in the DMV region were unfairly killed last year.
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Carol Tomason
Washington, DC
We’re a close family, and my parents would come once a month and stay in the same hotel. It was a sunny, beautiful day, and my mother ran to the store to buy a hairbrush and was hit by a driver of a pickup truck turning left through the crosswalk. My parents were married for 47 years. They had just been talking about how lucky they were—no one had gotten sick, everyone seemed happy—and this happened.
We’re all still trying to figure out how to put one foot in front of the other. My father is trying to grieve but his best friend and support system is gone, and it’s terrifying. It was a terrible day, there’s no way around it, and it’s been terrible since. That’s just the way it is.
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