JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Millions of people killed or seriously hurt in traffic crashes worldwide will be recognized Friday for the “World Day of Remembrance.”
For the first time, one of the 40 events planned around America was held in Jacksonville Friday at James Weldon Johnson Park.
Organizers say the event gives families and surviving victims a chance to grieve while also talking about plans in place to make streets safer to prevent future tragedies.
One of the special guests at Friday’s event experienced a devastating loss that also pushed her to help other families who have been in her shoes.
‘Gives me chills’
Just beyond the entrance to Stockton Park in the Ortega neighborhood stands a notable statue each visitor passes.
It’s fairly new to the park, as it was added there in August. But it tells a story outlined by the display and a plaque placed near the base of the statue.
It is a tribute to Allison Haramis, who was killed in a car crash in 2009 while riding home from school with a friend. She was just 15 years old and a sophomore in high school.
Allison was Drew Haramis’ only daughter.
“Our precious Allison was a fun, loving, happy child,” Drew said. “She was a hard worker. When I think of Allison, she had the best laugh and a beautiful smile. Her biggest passion in life was dancing.”
The statue in the park depicts a young girl dancing.
“It just gives me chills,” Drew said.
As Drew grieves her daughter’s untimely death, she helped launch a foundation known as “Angels for Allison.”
It helps Northeast Florida families who lost a child pay for their funerals. Drew says the foundation has helped about 175 families so far in 2024.
It paid for at least 1,200 funerals since starting in 2010.
“It is such a devastating time in someone’s life and there is so much going on,” Drew said. “We are able to take that and give them some relief by taking the financial burden away.”
508 dead in 3 years
There are many families paying homage on the World Day of Remembrance to those like Allison, who died in crashes.
The organizer of Jacksonville’s event is Lauren Rushing.
“Everyone deserves to reach their destinations safely,” Rushing said. “In the United States, there are 40,000 people per year who die in traffic crashes.”
Rushing is the vice chair of Jacksonville’s bicycle and pedestrian advisory committee, which is a nonformal committee and advocacy group. She said it is made up of transportation professionals and residents with a common goal of making Jacksonville more walkable and bike-friendly.
Jacksonville consistently ranks as one of the most dangerous metropolitan areas in the United States for pedestrians. That is noted in an annual report called “Dangerous by Design” through Smart Growth America.
It encourages cities to update policies on road safety and traffic enhancement each year.
Drew hopes the advocacy group can prevent similar accidents moving forward.
“In Jacksonville, so far in just this year, we have lost more than 120 people on our roadways in traffic crashes,” Rushing said. “We have also looked at the data between 2021 and 2023, so a three-year time period -- we have lost 508 people in traffic crashes on Jacksonville roadways.”
Improving safety
To help combat that, Rushing said, the city has applied for and received federal grants to help in its effort to improve traffic safety.
In particular, one grant being used currently is allowing the city to form what is called a “Vision Zero Action Plan.”
It is an aggressive strategy to try and eliminate all traffic fatalities and reduce serious injuries in half by 2035.
With the help of technology, the plan rethinks how roadways are designed through the testing and assessment of trial street patterns.
“[When] something like this happens, the general response is typically, ‘Well, that is really sad, but it happens. People get in traffic crashes,’“ Rushing said. ”So the World Day of Remembrance is an opportunity to say, ‘No. Things don’t have to be this way.' These traffic deaths and serious injuries are preventable and other communities have demonstrated that this is a preventable crisis. We need to act now to save lives.“
Drew finds solace in speaking with others who are dealing with the same pain she endures daily.
“I think it is very helpful for us to be able to lean on each other and just be there for the people who have been through such a terrible tragedy as we have,” she said as she talked about an annual memorial ceremony she hosts each spring to honor her daughter and the victims in the families her foundation assists. “It is a big part of the healing process.“
Rushing says she is doing what she can with hopes of keeping families from experiencing losing loved ones.
“We know the cure to this epidemic,” Rushing said. “It is about getting out there and taking the action that needs to be taken.”