HOUSTON — Just within a week, there were two accidents where two people were killed in crosswalks.
A new law makes that a criminal offense. It was passed after a family in Missouri City had their loved one killed while she walking her son to school.
This new law also makes it illegal not to stop and yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, but KHOU witnessed dozens and dozens of violations of that law Friday.
It was after school at Wisdom High School in West Houston and kids were in the crosswalks but traffic was still zooming by on Hilcroft and the side streets. For these students, getting across the street safely is more challenging than it should be. Over and over drivers failed to yield as kids crossed.
We showed that video to Gina Torry with Citizens for Road Safety in Texas.
“That is really powerful footage,” said Torry.
She not only funded Citizens for Road Safety but also pushed for the state's "crosswalk law" passed in 2021. It says drivers must stop and yield in crosswalk areas for pedestrians.
“Their safety and life is important,” said Torry.
The new law makes it a possible felony to injure or kill a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
For Torry, it's personal. Her sister was killed in a crosswalk in 2017.
“No family should ever get the call that their loved one was killed simply crossing the street trying to walk their child to school,” Torry said.
Now, after two deadly crosswalk wrecks in the last week and seeing our video, she says it's clear more education is needed -- for the public, but also school districts, prosecutors and even law enforcement.
“Every single one of those cars is in violation of the Lisa Torry Act," Torry said. "What matters is the failure to stop and yield."
She hopes they'll crack down on crosswalk violations before we witness another tragedy.
“Anytime we are contacted by a friend or someone injured in a crosswalk, it's always hurtful to hear this has happened to someone,” Torry said.
We didn't see any school zone signs in this area near Wisdom High School, but a new bill just went into effect this month that now requires high schools to install school zone signage.