“Challenging” was one of the first words that came to mind for Betsy Williams when asked to describe what it was like recovering from being hit while walking in Nashville.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — “Challenging” was one of the first words that came to mind for Betsy Williams when asked to describe what it was like recovering from being hit by a car.
Having recently come from a meeting with a trainer, who she said worked to increase her leg and core strength, Williams told News 2 that she had a bone graft surgery just this past April in relation to the crash.
In addition, Williams had a traumatic brain injury, injuries to her right eye which still gives her trouble, and a broken neck. Her medical team told her that it was a “miracle” she was not paralyzed.
Nearly two years ago, Williams was walking from her home to a Nashville Chamber of Commerce meeting. She crossed James Robertson Parkway at 7th Avenue at 6:25 in the morning. It was a typical walk for Williams — until she was struck by a car. Years later, Williams still deals with the consequences.
“It takes more effort just doing the smallest, slightest things,” Williams said. “It just takes more.”
Williams’ was one of five stories featured in a screening hosted by Metro Nashville’s Vision Zero on September 23. According to the organization’s website, the group envisions a future with zero roadway deaths on Nashville’s streets. The September 23 event featured short films highlighting lives impacted by pedestrian crashes.
“We are slowly killing each other through infrastructure choices that fail to take into account how we can all move around the city safely,” Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said at the event. “The reason that I was proud to commit publicly to Vision Zero several years ago when I was on Metro Council…is because one pedestrian death is too many, especially when we think of these as preventable.”
O’Connell said that in 2024 so far, at least 38 pedestrians have died as a result of crashes. Williams told News 2 that she was thankful that she was not one of those fatalities when she had her crash in 2022. She added that she supports Vision Zero’s mission and the city leaders that are working toward making it a reality.
“It’s going to take a while because the hardest thing to change is people’s behavior,” Williams said. “You can change laws, you can change streets, you can change designs, you can change all sorts of stuff — but people’s behavior is the last thing that changes and it’s the hardest thing to change.”
Williams admitted that before the crash, she was “as guilty” as other drivers about speeding and driving while distracted, but the crash changed her life and her outlook as both a driver and a pedestrian. Her main message for everyone on Nashville’s roads: slow down and pay attention.
“I was just a target,” Williams added. “Pedestrians are targets and we need to remember that we’re a target and we have to take precautions to make ourselves more visible to drivers who are coming along.”
To watch more of Vision Zero’s docuseries, follow this link to Nashville’s Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure’s YouTube channel to find all five parts of the Vision Zero Docuseries.
Metro Nashville Vision Zero invites residents to take a pledge to do their part in reducing pedestrian deaths. If you want to take the pledge, follow this link.