KAT, TX (Covering Katy News) — The Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office is enforcing and educating the public about the Lisa Torry Smith Act, also known as the Crosswalk Law. The law is named after Lisa Torry Smith, who was killed by a motorist in a Missouri City crosswalk while walking her son to Jan Schiff Elementary School in Missouri City in 2017.
District Attorney investigators visited Creech Elementary School in Katy on the morning of August 15, and Schiff Elementary School in Missouri City on the mornings of August 15 and 16.
Cinco Ranch freshman Logan Dark was killed in a crosswalk near Creech Elementary school in Sept. 2023 while riding his bike to school. His death shook the community.
Schmidt Funeral Home
Logan Dark loved to fish.
Democratic District Attorney Brian Middleton drafted the proposed law and worked with Democratic State Representative Ron Reynolds and Republican State Senator Joan Huffman to sponsor the bill in the 2021 Texas Legislature. Senate Bill 1055 passed both legislative houses and was signed into law by Republican Governor Greg Abbott on June 18, 2021.
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Covering Katy
On the morning of the accident, Sheriff Eric Fagan (middle) and District Attorney Brian Middleton (right) held a news conference on South Mason Road. The victim, Logan Dark was a Cinco Ranch High School freshman who was riding his bike to school when he was struck by a car.
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Melissa Sims
People gathered on Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023 at a Cinco Ranch Park near Southlake and the Beach Club to remember Logan Dark.
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Covering Katy News
The memorial site, in the days after Logan Dark's death, along South Mason Road near the Ballard House.
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Ribbons line trees along South Mason Road in memory of Logan Dark who was killed riding his bike to school.
The law makes it an offense to fail to yield the right of way to a pedestrian in a clearly marked crosswalk and requires drivers to come to a full stop for any pedestrians or cyclists in the intersection.
“A concerned parent reached out to my office after she was almost struck by a vehicle that ignored pedestrians in the crosswalk,” Middleton said. “Our goal is to visibly increase safety and awareness in the community we serve. It is dangerous behavior that can easily be avoided if we just pay attention and remain considerate of others.”