Family brings awareness to speeding after mother dies trying to cross the street

Ana Conejo
·3 min read
Family brings awareness to speeding after mother dies trying to cross the street

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – Last week, 63-year-old Linda Cole Tyler died after being hit by a vehicle while attempting to cross the street on Great Smokey Avenue during a green light.

As the family prepares funeral arrangements, daughters Rachel Hatch and Kimberly Cole bring awareness to speeding and crosswalks.

“She was a giver more than anything,” said Hatch. “She was just that person that people went to when they needed help and assistance.”

According to BRPD, the investigation is ongoing, and so far, the driver who killed the woman had no signs of impairment or violations but speeding may be a factor.

“The driver of the Ford Mustang did stop at the scene of the crash. They volunteered to do a breathalyzer, which ran at 000,” said Baton Rouge Police Department spokesperson Ljean McKneely. “But as always, it is an ongoing investigation. We’re going to do a check to see if the driver was speeding. We’re going to see if there were any other violations that were in place.”

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As the legacy of her mother stays strong, the community unites to help with much-needed funeral expenses on a GoFundMe page. Hatch said she wants to bring awareness to using crosswalks and keep your eyes on the road.

“He was just trying to get home and she was just trying to get to the store. If you live in that area, in a high-traffic area, use the crosswalk, that is what is there for,” she said. “I don’t fault anyone, but for us to just do better to it. If you get in the car, turn all distractions off and just do the speed limit in those neighborhoods where you know it is high traffic so that we can avoid situations like this from happening.”

BRPD also emphasizes the need to avoid speeding and says police officers are always on the lookout for those committing the crime.

“We have the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, they give us grant money that allows officers on their off time to go out and look for a speeding violation and violators and those that aren’t wearing a seatbelt. And we are out there in an attempt to change the driving behavior of those drivers in an attempt to prevent accidents from occurring, to have them drive as safely as possible,” he said.

Hatch has posted on socials that the family is in need of finances to put her mother to rest, for those who have helped she gives them thanks and hopes more can help.

“I truly thank the people from TikTok, from Instagram, from Facebook, all social media platforms. Thank you so much for the love that we’ve received thus far to place her to rest. I truly appreciate every dollar because we all work hard for our finances. So thank you so much for giving it,” she said.

To help the family, donate here. You can also send a CashApp donation here.

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