May 3, 2009 5:31 pm US/Central
Possible Pedestrian Legislation Could Save Lives
Legislators Trying To Make It Safer To Cross Street
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Teresa Pasek was struck by a car on Irving Park Road. She was in a coma for two weeks and now has to relearn how to do basic things.
CBS
In April, CBS 2 showed viewers how police are cracking down on drivers who don't stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.
Now, legislation is in the works to force drivers to make a complete stop when someone is crossing the street. And as CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli explains the proposed law could not come soon enough for one family.
Good Friday turned out to be one of the worst days of Katherine Caputa's life. That's because on that day her mom was struck by a car.
"Even though she's alive and she's sitting, it's like she's not there," Caputa said."It's like I've lost her."
Teresa Pasek nearly lost her life that night. She'd just left church and was headed for home when she attempted to cross Irving Park Road at Austin.
Pasek was on the east side of the street when the 38-year-old driver of an Audi heading south on Austin attempted to make a left hand turn onto Irving Park Road. The driver says he didn't see Pasek until just before he slammed into her.
Pasek survived, but fell into a coma for more than two weeks. She came out of the coma four days ago.
"Now she has to pretty much learn to do everything on her own again -- to walk by herself, to eat, to breathe," Caputa said.
To help Pasek breathe doctors gave her a tracheotomy. They also removed a large section of her skull which will have to be reinserted several months from now.
"She remembers that she went to church but she doesn't remember the actual moment of being hit," Caputa said.
Caputa has hired lawyers who are trying to piece together what happened.
"We're hoping to find some people who witnessed the accident to give us a little more information as to what happened on that day," said attorney Gary Annes.
The attorney's plan is to sue the driver's insurance company.
"In reality, no amount of money is ever going to change the situation for our client. This is a lifelong injury that is going to affect her for the rest of her life," said attorney David Abels.
"We used to talk on the phone four or five times a day and now not to be able to speak to her and to hear her voice, it's really hard," Caputa said.
But Caputa is hopeful that with time her mom will regain her memory and her voice, so she'll once again be able to hear that voice on the phone.
According to federal highway statistics, in 2007 more than 4,600 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes across the country. 171 of those people lost their lives in Illinois.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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