Family calls for justice after grandmother hit, killed by SUV in Lyons
LYONS, Ill. (CBS) – An Illinois grandmother out to enjoy a sunny day was killed crossing the street.
Her family wants justice but the law isn't on their side. Morning Insider Lauren Victory explained what happened in suburban Lyons.
Sara Straney lived a fulfilling life.
"There she is bobbing up and down on an inner tube," her family said looking at a photo album.
Her family, who call her "Gigi," said the spritely 83-year-old would have made it much longer.
"She loved going out to dinner," said Chris Straney, her son. "She loved dancing. She loved being with her friends."
Everything changed on March 1 when Straney was hit by an SUV while crossing the street at Joliet and Ogden Avenues in Lyons.
"She had 10 broken ribs, a broken collar bone, a broken pelvis," said daughter-in-law Christine Carr.
She also had extensive injuries that necessitated multiple surgeries.
"It was the most difficult month of my life," Chris Straney said.
Unfortunately, the grandmother couldn't hold on. She was laid to rest, but her family couldn't bury a feeling of injustice.
"How is this acceptable for her to get hit and killed and there be no penalty?" Carr said.
Carr is talking about the fact that police didn't pursue any criminal charges against the driver. Investigators said he wasn't speeding and stopped right away.
"She was in the crosswalk," Carr said. "She had the right of way and if the driver had been looking where he was driving, he would've seen her. How is that not reckless? How is that not negligent?"
The chief of police in Lyons said he feels for the family but he doesn't think anything supports charging the driver. CBS 2 asked legal analyst Irv Miller for his take.
"I totally agree with the police assessment of this," Miller said.
Miller used to head up Cook County's felony review unit, a group of prosecutors that know the ins and outs of what's required for criminal charges, including reckless homicide.
"If you have an accident where the driver is going an excessive speed, over 20 miles per hour typically, of if they're impaired," he said.
Again, police said none of those factors were involved in Straney's case.
"If nothing else, if the Village of Lyons can't, has made the determination that this is not a crime, I want him to at least get a traffic citation for killing my mother," Chris Straney said.
A technicality forced prosecutors to drop a failure to yield to a pedestrian ticket earlier this month. So the jury's out if Gigi's family gets any peace.
Lyons police reissued a citation to the driver late Tuesday afternoon. That's a ticket with a fine, not a charge with possible jail time.
CBS 2 reached out to the man behind the wheel, but did not hear back.
