My mama’s name is Vicki.

 

She was beautiful, compassionate, deeply loved, and the kind of person who made everyone around her feel safe. She was the heart of our family. The kind of mama you never stop needing, no matter how old you are.

 

On November 5, 2025, my family’s lives changed forever.

 

My mama was driving across the twin span bridge in New Bern, North Carolina when her tire blew out. There was no shoulder. No emergency lane. No safe place for her to go.

 

By the time she stopped, the tire was shredded down to the metal rim — showing she had already driven as far as she safely could. Continuing any farther could have risked losing control of the vehicle entirely.

 

Believing she was as far over as possible, on a straight stretch of the bridge with her hazard lights flashing, my mama likely thought she was finally safe enough to wait for help.

 

She did what any reasonable person would do in a roadside emergency: she pulled over as far to the right as possible, turned on her hazard lights, and called for help.

 

While waiting, she stood at the back of her vehicle preparing to get the spare tire out so she would be ready when assistance arrived.

 

And then someone hit and killed her.

 

My mama never made it home.

 

According to the available crash information, there is no indication that the driver attempted to brake, slow down, or maneuver away before impact.

 

For our family, that reality only deepens the heartbreak — and reinforces the urgent need for stronger protections for people experiencing roadside emergencies.

 

Afterward, we were told that because she was “illegally stopped,” the driver who hit and killed her was not at fault.

 

But this was not inevitable.
This was traffic violence.
And it was preventable.

 

No person experiencing a roadside emergency should be left completely unprotected simply because there is nowhere safe to go.

 

Current North Carolina law requires drivers to move over for emergency vehicles, but not for ordinary people in distress — mothers, fathers, daughters, sons — standing vulnerable beside disabled vehicles with hazard lights flashing.

 

That gap in the law cost my mama her life.

 

That is why I am fighting for Vicki’s Law.

 

Vicki’s Law would expand North Carolina’s Move Over Law to require drivers to:

• Move over or significantly slow down when approaching disabled vehicles with hazard lights activated
• Exercise caution around individuals outside of disabled vehicles
• Protect vulnerable people experiencing roadside emergencies

This law is about accountability.
It is about public safety.
It is about recognizing that every person stranded on the side of the road is a human life deserving of protection.

 

My mama’s life mattered.

 

She was not just a headline, a statistic, or a crash report.

 

She was a mother, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, and friend. She is deeply loved, endlessly missed, and lives on in the hearts of so many.

 

And if my mama’s story can help prevent even one family from experiencing this kind of unimaginable grief, then her legacy will continue protecting others long after this moment.

 

Please stand with me.
Please sign this petition.
Please share my mama’s story.

Please help us turn grief into change.

 

#Vicki'sLaw