World Day of Remembrance Recap & Media Roundup

The annual event honoring crash victims was held November 17 in Nashville, Memphis, and Knoxville.

By Wesley Smith     November 25, 2024

Mayor Freddie O'Connell plants flags on the Capitol lawn memorializing fatal crash victims. Credit: Stephen Elliott / Nashville Banner

On Sunday, November 17, fatal crash victims were memorialized at the state capitol. One thousand yellow flags were planted, symbolizing the roughly 1,000 people killed each year on Tennessee’s roads. Simultaneous events were held in Memphis and Knoxville. In Nashville, dozens of attendees heard from victims’ families and signed a petition calling on the state to reduce fatal crashes. 

Figure showing the state's projected increase in fatalities (red) and targets (gray)

Despite a stated mission to reduce fatalities to zero, the state’s newly adopted Strategic Highway Safety Plan predicts an annual increase in fatalities and sets strategic targets that would also cost more lives. Organizers demand more be done to save lives, including managing speeds on state-owned urban highways.

In addition to victims’ families, Mayor Freddie O’Connell, State Senator Heidi Campbell, Metro Council Member Burkely Allen, and staff from the Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure were in attendance.

 

Statewide Media Coverage

 

Nashville Coverage

  • Families of crash victims honor loved ones, push for change on Tennessee roads (WKRN, Nashville)
    • Interview with FSS Member Chuck Isbell, father of Nate Isbell, who was killed by a distracted speeding driver on Halloween in 2020 
    • Coverage of call to action and petition
  • Walk Bike Nashville holds vigil for victims of TN car crashes (News Channel 5, Nashville)
    • Interview with Armesha Allen, granddaughter of Edward Day, who was killed in a hit-and-run crash walking home from a friend’s house last year
  • Nashville Police Mostly Stopped Pulling Cars Over, But Some Councilmembers Want to Reverse the Trend (Nashville Banner)
    • Interviews with attendees about enforcing traffic laws

 

Memphis Coverage

  • Candlelight vigil held in honor of World Day of Remembrance (Action News 5, Memphis)
    • Coverage of event and interview with Jackson McNeil from Innovate Memphis
  • Memphis marks World Remembrance Day for car crash victims (Fox 13, Memphis)
    • Details on new improvements in Memphis

 

Knoxville Coverage

  • Pedestrian safety advocates honor World Day of Remembrance (WBIR, Knoxville) 
    • Interview with crash survivor Bryan Hill
  • ‘Not just numbers’: Group gathers in Market Square to remember crash victims (WATE, Knoxville)
    • Interview with Michelle Lawson, mother of Quinton Fields, who was killed by a driver on Henley Street in 2022 after a Tennessee Volunteers football game

Learn more about Families for Safe Streets Tennessee