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Raidy family photo
John Paul Raidy, 6, was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Grand Prairie, Texas, Thursday night.
A Grand Prairie, Texas, middle school teacher turned herself in to police Tuesday in connection with a hit-and-run that killed 6-year-old John Paul Raidy.
Grand Prairie police identified the woman as 53-year-old Tammy Lowe, a seventh-grade teacher at Adams Middle School in Grand Prairie.
Lowe has been charged with failure to stop and render aid. She is also expected to face a charge of injury to a child.
Raidy, a first-grader at Austin Elementary in Grand Prairie, was hit by a car at about 7:30 p.m. Jan. 24 as he crossed the street with his mother and sister.
Police said the driver ran a red light that investigators determined had been red for 14 seconds. Police said the collision was so powerful that Raidy landed on the hood of the car and was carried 100 yards before landing on the pavement.
Investigators said the vehicle that hit him stopped briefly and then drove off southbound on Carrier Parkway.
Raidy was taken by ambulance to Arlington Memorial Hospital where he died.
On Saturday, a memorial grew near the crash scene after his mother, Lauren, made an emotional plea Friday to find the car's driver.
"He loved school, he loved all his friends and you took him from us," the boy's mother said. "I pray they grow a conscience and turn themselves in for doing this to a 6-year-old boy."
Raidy would have turned 7 years old next month.
NBC 5's Ken Kalthoff and Andres Gutierrez contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
Being from Texas and a good christian I am sure the teacher is pro-life.
Being a person who turns a tragedy into a social issue, I am sure you are a liberal.
Wow, both of you. Why don't you both dial-down the inane comments. That's just unbelievably juvenile.
I agree with Robert--this is a tragedy for two families--knock off the partisan b.s.
Not to be too political. But I noticed some republicans doing this as well too. It goes both ways.
soulbrother, you realize it started with a sarcastic comment from a liberal right?
Sad for the child. I hope the woman gets charged with murder. Disgusting woman.
How awful that this little boy was killed by a driver who ran a red light, then refused to remain after stopping. The only redeeming factor in this whole mess was she turned herself in eventually.It makes me sick to my stomach to learn she is a teacher, who worked with children,yet still drove away. If anyone would stay, we would think it would be someone like this, right?But the brain does strange things under stress.
Is it the fight or flight that takes over and sheer terror?Shock at seeing a child's body a mere foot or two in front,bloodied as one drives, causing panic and desperation? Trying to grab at straws to stop ones world from collapsing and losing everything in ones life over a mistake? Or to just find a place to think for a few minutes perhaps, or fearing what a spouse will say or do? It really doesn't matter in the end. A little child is dead because someone ran a red light, once again.We can demonize her all we want.Yes, she must be held accountable and that lovely innocent child will never come back.Never grow up,fall in love, get married, have children.
When will more people pay attention to the rules of the road?Then there is that question we don't want to ever ask ourselves. Will we ever make a mistake, that ultimately destroys our carefully built life or others? No one ever expects it to happen to them, until it does.May this little boy rest in peace, and this teacher continue to do all that is necessary to pay the full price for her poor judgment, the life lost, and lives changed because of it
Good post. I can see all that kicking in, but I can't imagine running over a child and not stopping. I just wonder if she had been drinking.
Sheila-846240
The first thought I had was she left the scene long enough to let her blood alcohol level get back to normal or she was texting when she hit him and just freaked out. Either way, she was wrong to leave.
Shelia
Yes, good post.
It sounds as if she may have been texting...no text message is worth a life.
A very thoughtful post, Windancersong.
this has happeed before but the teacher was given probation and her parents were not charged with helping hide the crimes. drunk drivig / runnig over children and leavig them to die is okay in the ghettos of America. in NYC leaving to turn your self in at your convienence is the norm.
How anyone could hit a person, much less a child and not stop is beyond me... The woman is obviously educated so ignorance is not a factor, she is 53, so neither is youth a factor. I can only speculate that she is just another self-centered, self-absorbed narcissist, who will hopefully be on her way to prison soon... Well, if we had a justice system, she would; but alas we have a legal system so she will probably make a deal that will allow her to escape any jail time.....
Tragic for everyone.
RIP little fellow.
panic.It was sheer terror and panic.tragedy
My very sincere condolences to the Raidy family on the loss of John Paul.
Parents should never have to bury a child, especially one as young as this to something so preventable.
I can only hope that the authorities fully investigate this crime. If it comes to pass that Tammy Lowe was texting or talking on the phone when this tragedy occurred, any charges should be increased to at a minimum of criminally negligent homicide and the penalties for that should apply. She murdered an innocent child through pure negligence.
You said "If [she]...was texting or talking on the phone...." then finish by saying "She murdered an innocent child through pure negligence". How about accepting that she simply didn't see him and then panicked until the investigation brings something else to light. As hard as it is to forgive her for what happened, she did at least turn herself in. Yes, it could have been because she was DUI and needed time to sober up, but I don't see any way to prove that now. Let's just see where the investigation goes.
But they will never know if she was DUI now. I can't imagine anyone that was alert at 7 pm running a red light that had been on for 14 seconds. She slowed down and then went on, something is going on here.
How about accepting that she simply didn't see him and then panicked until the investigation brings something else to light.
Can you read? The light was red for FOURTEEN seconds! If you're going to make such a callous remark, at least be accurate: How about accepting that she simply didn't see the red light...
There is NO excuse for what she did. Quite wasting eveyone's time trying to defend her.
Central.Cali.Girl - That's exactly what you are - an immature girl - not to mention naive - and too blind to try to understand both sides. Can you, too, read?
The length of time a light was any color whatsoever, has nothing to do with whether a particular driver SAW it. That is a purely human failing - to which everyone - even you - is susceptible in this life. No one is "defending" this driver. We are trying to understand both sides of a sad - and very real - human tragedy. Grow up - and develop some empathy - for both sides.
Is it the fight or flight that takes over and sheer terror? I would guess so.....added to the fact that she missed the red light - no matter the time it was shining - and was most likely very tired after a long day teaching 7th grade, preparing additional lessons, and sitting in longer-than-needed, boring meetings......
Thank you, LadyCoastGuard. I was going to be less kind in my response to Grrrrl. You made me realize she is just a grrrl and has lots of growing up to do. We'll just hope she gets there, to adult, intelligent empathy.
Whether or not she saw the kid, the fact remains, she ran a red light which had turned red - 14 seconds - before she hit the kid. She still has no excuse - there were 3 people crossing the intersection, one of them was an adult... kids are short, but she should have seen the adult and teen pedestrians!
That's like shooting a gun, multiple times, into a car, with people in front and back seat - then claiming - I did not think I hit anyone. Fish in a barrel - how could you not hit someone, even it you closed your eyes you are bound to hit someone!
So you drive away? and not report the shooting to police?
Try this, count to 14, isn't that a heck of a long time passing. How fast did she have to be driving to not think she could safely stop? even in rush hour California, which is notorious for 2 or 3 cars running city intersections after they get a red light, drivers often count to 4, just out of defensive driving (unofficial understanding) common sense.
LadyCoastGuard
Tell the mother of John to please just look at both sides! geez This is not an either/or situation. A child died needlessly and the person who did it ran after the child had been thrown on her car in front of her face...and she's a teacher at that! Teachers help kids no matter where they are! And remind me, what is the difference between empathy and excuses that have nothing to offer after a child is killed?
Everyone, the article notes that the boy was hit while he was crossing the road with his mother and sister. Pretty hard to not see THREE people.
I suspect the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol and/or was texting, and she didn't stop because she wanted to talk to her lawyer before anything else. She probably realized that she killed the boy from the description of the impact...
LadyCoastGuard,
So we should forgive her because being a teacher is so hard? lol. Way to defend someone who killed a child then ran away. My dad is a special ed teacher and deals with way harder stuff than this woman probably ever has to, and he would never use that as an excuse.
You're disgusting.
That was generous. :(
That only makes it worse. She was aware she hit a person, then consciously decided to leave the scene anyway?
She is a teacher! When you work with kids all day, it should be a habit to notice the little munchkins as they scurry around.
To her credit, she did stop briefly. You know you have to make sure that there aren't any dents in your vehicle.
The police will retrace her footsteps and find out one way or another that she was obviously intoxicated. She'll be minimally charged with vehicular manslaughter and might get a second-degree murder charge if she was intoxicated. Hopefully, she'll spend the rest of her life in prison.
sounds more like texting which should be 2nd degree!
Also in the news is a story of a teacher reporting a 5 year old student for sticking together 2 LEGO bricks, making what they thought look like a GUN and sent a Warning to the parents that the child was behaving UN-appropriately and if it happened again he would be expelled or suspended.
Wont be long now folks.. the population has totally lost their senses.
Teachers are caught in the middle of the gun situation. If she didn't say anything and the kid shot up a school when he got older, the teacher would be crucified for missing the "warning signs". If she says anything, then she's being reactionary. Rock and a hard spot for teachers everywhere...
This is tragic for both families.She should have stopped no matter why she ran the red light as now she has made this even worse for herself.I am sorry for this little boy(he was so darned cute and our grandson's age)his family and the teachers family.Rendering aid may not have saved his life but this lady is clearly lacking any moral compass.
My youngest son just turned 6, and is having the time of his life in Kindergarten this year.
I look at that photo and see his face. I read the story and see the street outside my house.
These are the stories that haunt me.
Rest in peace little buddy. :(
RIP precious little boy. My deepest condolences to the family.
RIP little guy. How horribly sad...
I have never understood fleeing a crime scene. It only makes things worse.
But then people (society) doesn't want to take personal responsibility for their actions.
It is either sue or expect the government to take care of all your problems. When you see that kind of stuff every day I'm not surprised that it spreads to not facing up to your crimes.
Have you ever had the opportunity to "flee a crime scene"? Or, are you just speculating from the sidelines?
This is not about people taking personal responsibility. This is about human nature and fear and horror of the situation. I am sure that a law suit is the furthest thing from the mind of a person who suddenly finds themselves in a situation like this.
You sound like someone who talks big, but are on the sidelines with hind sight and are far and safely removed from the horror of such a scenario. You may react much differently than you think you would if you were in this situation. This is about reaction, not about reflective thought. Your first reaction might be to run, as well.
Sorry Hanne, not all people are as disgusting as you think they are. You can run away if you want.
It is most definitely a tragedy however, we all are so quick to judge these days. It was dark and the little boy was ahead of his mother in a busy street. The driver panicked but now she has done the right thing. I'm sure she has been tortured by this from the moment she drove away. My heart goes out to everyone involved. I agree that running a red light is always bad but who hasn't run or nearly run one before. We are all driving around in a stressful state for the most part these days. I am praying for both families.
This is tragic all the way around. We all have accidents. We can all think of a time when we felt lucky that what could have happened did not happen.
We jump to conclusions about why this happened, but, we know nothing.
She could have very likely been so terrified that she ran away. Or, she could have been at fault for some other reason. I am not sure how I would react to the horror of causing something like this to happen. I think sometimes people panic.
I always feel bad when these things happen, and it is purely an accident, a lapse in judgement. It could happen to any one of us. And, the poor child, in the wrong place at the wrong time, innocently.
Tragic, all the way around.
hmmmmm so it was a DRUNK teacher I am sure why else would you NOT stop??
I'm thinking alcohol too. That's why she waited to turn herself in. Shame on her.
texting
Yes, this is absolutely tragic, but could have been preventable.
One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three...count FOURTEEN seconds (36.6 feet per second at 25 miles per hour = 512.4 feet; a football field is 360 feet, including end zones, for perspective). Let's go with the premise she was not drunk, not texting. To try & use being "very tired" is still NOT AN EXCUSE. If she was so tired that she could disregard a red light for 14 seconds, she should not have been behind the wheel of the car! That is a blatant disregard for public safety, period. "I'm tired, I just want to get home" - so it's okay to put yourself and your wants before a need to ensure you are not a public safety risk? If she was that damned tired, why didn't she call a cab or a friend to come pick her up, or just take a moment to get up, move around, wash her face with cold water, do whatever she needed to do in order to become more alert before getting behind the wheel?
Our roadways would be a helluva lot safer if people would consider the safety of others as a top priority. I truly feel for the family of the little boy, but I have zero sympathy for anyone who knowlingly gets behind the wheel of a car impaired, in whatever form of impairment. Irresponsibility killed that little boy - it's an ugly truth, but it's still the truth.
spot on, CV
agreed!!
How often people think they can disappear and that will alleviate the problem, it only compounds it. She is now facing even more serious charges. Had I done something like this the guilt would be over whelming.
What are the chances that this woman was texting someone. Texas took the intersection cameras out a few years ago. It was just "too expensive".
Probably too expensive to face the suits from the ACLU about invasion of privacy and the fights over letting the camera companies keep some of the money.
I didn't care about either--whatever saves lives is okay with me.
If she was texting, the police investigation can subpoena her phone records, if she was drunk, the police will find out her activities before the accident. In either scenario, she committed a criminal act and fled the scene. She knew she had committed a crime. As Cathy V. pointed out so very eruditely, 14 seconds means she traveled more than the length of a football field, even at speeds as slow as 25 mph. But the impact indicates she was traveling at a greater speed. Sad, to lose your future over a bad choice. Sadder still, to lose a child.
One thing I like about Texas, the punishment will fit the crime. None of that liberal bull@!$%# there.
A similar incident happened in Fort Collins, Colorado a few years ago. The woman was texting, and ran-over and killed a little girl walking home from school. But, this being Colorado, the woman was given probation and had to pay a fine.
That's how life and the justice system work in the Balloon-boy, Columbine High School Massacre state!
That's how it was with my uncle over 30 years ago, Koatz. He died up at Horsetooth reservoir in an accident and the woman involved got off on a misdemeanor.
Personally I think this woman who hit the kid should be drawn and quartered.
God bless them both and forgive both of them for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Only God knows what a person will do in a moment of mental shock. Judge no one until you have walked in their moccosins for a mile. God bless this child. With all the evil people on this planet that deserve death - This child did not!
Wrong place at the wrong time? It's always wrong to be entering the intersection 14 seconds after the light is red and hit a little boy. It's even more wrong to drive away leaving him to die alone! Mental shock my ass--that's a good excuse for murder*
*Once she made the decision to drive through the red light and have him on the hood of the car (the poor little thing) and then drive off, it went from homicide/manslaughter to second degree murder.
Uh?..."forgive them both for being at the wrong place at the wrong time?"
The child was in his rightful place with his family and this woman ran him down! logic anyone?
Injury to a child? The callous bitch needs to face vehicular homicide charges with life imprisonment or 20 + years and permanent loss of teaching license and driving license.
This is what prison is made for. Can you imagine a small child on your hood and you drive away. She was probably texting or talking on the cell phone. What type of people live in this world today.