An 83-year-old Florida woman who struck and killed a 12-year-old girl with her car after failing to fully stop at a crosswalk two months ago has been issued a $169 fine but will face no criminal charges in connection to the fatal accident.
Three days before Christmas, Sophia Nelson was walking home from the beach with her grandfather and pet dog, Coal, when she stopped at a crosswalk on State Road A1A in Satellite Beach and activated the flashing-yellow crosswalk lights.
Sophia’s father, Mark Nelson, said his daughter waited for several cars to pass, then stepped into the crosswalk during a ‘long gap’ before the next car. But the oncoming vehicle operated by JoAnn Stanker did not stop and struck her.
Sophia Nelson, 12 (left and right with mom Jill) was struck by JoAnn Stanker, 83, at a crosswalk in Satellite Beach, Florida, three days before Christmas and later died
Sophia was walking home from the beach with her family when she stopped at this crosswalk on State Road A1A and activated the flashing-yellow crosswalk lights
Stanker told police she slowed down at the sight of the lights but did not stop because she did not see the sixth-grader at the crosswalk
Sophia, who was a sixth-grader at Surfside Elementary School, was rushed to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, where she passed away three days later, but not before donating her organs and saving the lives of four children.
Following a two-month investigation, the Satellite Police Department on Wednesday released a statement announcing that Stanker, a widowed mother-of-two and grandmother from Cape Canaveral, won’t be facing any criminal counts in connection to Sophia’s death.
‘No criminal charges were filed because there was no evidence whatsoever that the driver was driving in a dangerous or reckless manner,’ the agency stated.
The 83-year-old motorist instead was issued a citation for failure to stop at crosswalk, a moving traffic violation, which requires a mandatory court appearance on March 17 due to the crash resulting in a fatality.
Sophia was an organ donor, and in her death she helped save the lives of four other children
Stanker was given a $169 fine and will be required to complete a driver’s license reexamination process.
‘The investigation into this tragic case has concluded but we will continue to deeply mourn the loss of Sophia Nelson,’ Satellite Beach Police Chief Jeff Pearson said. ‘We remain committed to aggressively enforcing traffic safety laws to educate drivers and pedestrians and make our roads as safe as they can be.’
According to the police, surveillance video from the scene of the crash revealed that Stanker was about 395 feet from the crosswalk stop bar when the yellow flashing warning lights were activated by Sophia.
Evidence gathered by investigators showed that the driver had enough time to react, slow and stop before the crosswalk.
In the video, Stanker’s car purportedly can be seen breaking and slowing down almost immediately after the lights were activated, but the woman failed to stop at the crosswalk.
According to police, Stanker later told officers she did not see Sophia in the crosswalk.
The driver remained at the scene and agreed to a blood test, which showed that she was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Mark Nelson and wife Jill are pushing for the passage of the the Sophia Nelson Pedestrian Safety Act in Florida targeting yellow pedestrian-activated lights
In the wake of Sophia’s death, her parents, Mark and Jill Nelson, have lobbied state lawmaker to pass the Sophia Nelson Pedestrian Safety Act, which would require that flashing pedestrian-activated lights be switched from yellow to red, or completely removed, on roads with more than two lanes or where the speed limit is higher than 35mph.
‘She put trust in that button when she pushed it. And she put trust in the yellow lights, that traffic would stop. And she put trust in that driver, that she had given the driver plenty of room to slow down and stop,’ Mark Nelson testified before a Florida House committee last week.
The bill named after the Nelsons’ daughter cleared the committee and now heads to the House floor for a vote.
The girl’s parents say they do not believe crosswalks equipped with yellow flashing lights are safe, and they hope the law will help save other lives.