Community gathers at MN State Capitol to remember victims of road traffic crashes

Day of remembrance for victims of traffic crashes

The community gathered at the Minnesota State Capitol for the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. FOX 9's Babs Santos has the story.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Lighting candles and standing together in solidarity on Saturday at the Minnesota State Capitol, impacted families and stakeholders gathered to mark the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

"It touched my heart because it does show that people out there care," mother Pamela Mason said. "Our lives are forever changed by something that could have been prevented."

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is commemorated on the third Sunday of November each year to remember those who were killed or seriously injured in a road traffic crash.

Pamela’s son Austin was left blind, nonverbal and quadriplegic, after authorities say a white 2011 to 2014 Acura TSX catapulted him into the air. The driver fled from the scene near Rockford Road and Vicksburg Lane in Plymouth.

"It really has been a roller coaster of emotions. For the first year there wasn’t a day, maybe there wasn’t even an hour, where I didn’t cry or feel angry," Pamela said. "A moment of distraction can cause a lifetime of pain."

Brendan McCarthy’s family feels the emotions too. In 2014, Brendan’s 16-year-old son Jason was killed on Brooklyn Center’s Highway 252.

"A drunk driver hit him at 2 p.m.," Brendan told FOX 9 on Saturday.

Saturday’s event offered sympathies to all who have lost someone, making clear that the lives of victims represent more than a number.