Grieving Father Calls For Age-Restriction Driving Laws After A 92-Year-Old Woman Ran Over His 7-Year-Old Daughter
It was an accident that could have been prevented with better driving laws.
Photobac | Shutterstock A devastated father is calling for a long-awaited change in U.S. driving laws after the death of his 7-year-old daughter — an accident that he and many others believe could have been prevented.
While the little girl and her mother were walking into a pharmacy, an elderly driver made a deadly mistake and wound up running over the girl. Now, her father is begging for the implementation of a driving age limit.
7-year-old Stephanie Alonso was killed after a 92-year-old driver ran over her after confusing the brake and gas pedal.
On September 2, Stephanie and her mother had parked their car and were walking into a Miami pharmacy together. At the same time, a 92-year-old woman was attempting to park her Nissan SUV when she accidentally hit the accelerator, slamming into little Stephanie and side-swiping her mother.
Stephanie was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and unfortunately succumbed to her injuries on September 6. She was just two weeks shy of her eighth birthday.
Miami police have issued a ticket to the unidentified elderly driver for careless driving, but no arrests have been made at this time.
Stephanie’s heartbroken father, Joany Figueredo, is still trying to process how this tragedy unfolded, wondering why a 92-year-old woman who was unable to differentiate a gas pedal from a break pedal was driving in the first place.
“She hit my daughter, and she hit the wall. She got out of the car and acted like nothing happened,” he told NBC 6 South Florida. “What is happening? Why is a person who is 92 years old driving? There should be an age limit on driving.”
The grieving father plans to use his daughter’s story to advocate for laws that limit the driving age — and he is not the only one in favor of this idea.
“Senile accidents are a serious issue, and old people do not have the right to drive and risk killing people,” one Redditor noted. “You can't trust that they will judge this for themselves and willingly surrender it. They won't.”
Others called for elderly drivers to retake their road test each year to determine if they are still component enough to keep their licenses.
Roman Samborskyi | Shutterstock
While it may seem unfair to some older drivers who believe that they are capable of driving and fear that their independence is being threatened, cracking down on driving age restrictions may just save lives.
Statistics show that fatal accidents per mile traveled are highest among drivers who are 85 and older. Behind teenage drivers, drivers 65 and older have the second-highest accident rates as their general health begins to deteriorate, and they are not as sharp with decision-making on the road as they once were.
The most common mistakes elderly drivers make include poor judgment while making left-hand turns, decreased ability to react quickly when something unexpected comes up in their route, and drifting from lane to lane without signaling or even checking behind them.
Even the most simple mistakes can cost someone their life.
It can be difficult for elderly drivers to make the decision to surrender their driving privileges on their own.
However, with stricter driving laws and age restrictions (along with encouragement and help from family members) more and more accidents may be prevented.
Most of us are aware that unqualified elderly drivers do not intend to run into people and that, like all of us, they make mistakes. However, there is no room for the mistake of confusing a gas pedal with a brake pedal while operating a 3-ton medal machine in areas where young children may be walking.
In addition to fighting for stricter driving laws, Stephanie’s father also launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for her medical expenses before her death.
Still, the donations are pouring in to offer the family financial support during this unimaginable time, and they have since raised over $40,000.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.