Last November following the Dallas Running Club Half marathon, three runners walking to cars parked near Flag Pole Hill were struck and badly injured by an uninsured driver.
The Morning News over the weekend ran an intense article detailing painful recovery process for those involved. The most seriously injured, Morning News editor and seasoned runner Eric Nelson, is a Lakewood resident, his wife, Colleen, an active member of the Service League (the LSL sent us updates from her last year following the incident).
His first words upon waking in the hospital two days after the accident were to her— “Babe, this sucks so bad”. Indeed. Perhaps what sucks the most is that the 31-year old driver had a suspended license and no auto insurance. This all happened before the days of getting your car towed if you lack the proper proof of financial responsibility, but makes a good case for the new-ish ordinance. Her license was suspended, after all, for repeatedly getting busted driving without insurance —one towing probably would have fixed that bad habit and might have kept her off the road. Had she been insured, it might not have prevented a crash but it would have at least helped pay for the victims’ unfathomable medical costs.
Because no one died, the driver Brandy Hopkins won’t face any criminal charges, only misdemeanors. I’m pretty sure though, that they could have taken her to jail for driving with a suspended license—instead she went to Parkland with a minor shoulder injury.
Anyway, it’s a lengthy and pretty painful story, but a really good read.
