Her daughter was nearly killed crossing the street Sunday. When will this end? | Opinion

Sierra Pecor went to Water Street on St. Patrick’s Day to celebrate with her friends and toast her late brother around the anniversary of his death. When she was crossing the street at the intersection of Water Street and Highland Avenue around 11 p.m., a black truck struck Pecor.

The driver did not stop. Pecor's life will be changed forever.

“She has seven broken ribs, a lacerated liver, bleeding in her stomach, she almost lost her foot, her knee was dislocated, and she has rods in both legs," said her mom, Steph Pecor. "They say if she had been hit head-on, she would have been killed. The driver was traveling between 80 and 100 mph. My daughter didn’t deserve this. She doesn’t mess with anyone. She works hard. It’s hard to see her hurt like this."

Sierra, 28, opened Golden Lash Beauty Bar in Fox Point four years ago and also works as a bartender at Casablanca on Brady Street. Her family is speaking out in the hopes the driver is apprehended and to call for more action on reckless driving, which continues to plague Milwaukee even after the city has invested millions in new street designs, bumps, roundabouts, and speed bumps.

The topic is a hot-button issue in the mayor's race. Incumbent Mayor Cavalier Johnson said making city streets safer is one of his primary goals. Yet the actions of local and state officials never seems to match the energy of people leaving a trail of carnage across Milwaukee. Last November, seven people were killed in separate car crashes in one week. The common denominator: speed.

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Steph Pecor said the last four years have been tough on her family. Her son Evan, a construction worker, was going through a bitter divorce when we was given a pill by someone and died in his apartment four years ago at the age of 28. His lived just across the hallway from his mother.

“Sierra took it so hard. I still remember her crying and trying to get to him,” Steph Pecor said.

Evan Pecor's birthday was March 18. Pecor said losing her son was one of the hardest things she’s ever been through, and the fact that she almost lost her daughter four years later is even harder to understand.

Stiffer penalties needed. Police should stop cars without plates.

Sierra’s aunt, Lisa Ellis, said the reckless driving numbers don’t tell the entire story.

“People are dying, and a lot of people are being injured, and nothing is being done about it. Most of the people involved get a slap on the wrist if they get caught, and they are back on the streets doing the same thing in 72 hours,” said Ellis, a surgical technician at St. Joseph's Hospital.

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Ellis implored policymakers to develop stiffer laws that include more jail time for reckless drivers.

“Something has to change because the city is spending millions on all these curb outs and speed bumps, and nothing is changing,” she said.

Ellis said she heard a member of the Kia Boyz refer to a curb out as a “launch pad.”

Ellis and Pecor also say people involved in hit-and-run accidents should spend serious time behind bars instead of the “catch and release policy” currently being used.

“They hit my daughter and just left her in the street like that,” Steph Pecor said.

Enforcement must match the energy of the reckless drivers

Neighborhoods have done their part to curb reckless driving. When careless drivers started to speed down our northside block in 2020, I got homeowners on my block to sign a letter to install a speed bump.

While it has helped some, I have witnessed at least four high-speed chases since it was installed. Most speeders who know the speedbump is there either swerve toward the curb, where the bump is lower, or careen over the hump at a high rate of speed because, most likely, the car is stolen anyway.

More importantly, there needs to be a change in the mentality of those behind the wheel. Driving is not a right; it’s a privilege that should be taken away from people who don’t follow the rules.

Growing up, I was afraid I would be stopped if I didn’t even have my license plate updated. Today, people drive without a license, license plate, or valid registration without fear of being pulled over by police.

What happened, and why did the police get so lazy about stopping cars without tags?

Last year, the state increased reckless driving penalties. The first offense rises from $25 to $200, while the second offense increases from a $50 fine to $500. Does anyone think this will make a change? The law doesn’t become punitive until a reckless driver causes “great bodily harm” to someone. In that instance, the penalty increases from 3.5 years to 6 years behind bars.

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I wish we didn’t need to wait until someone is left in the hospital with mounting medical bills like Sierra before we get tough with reckless drivers.

I believe if they want to drive recklessly and cause trauma and harm to everyone in their path, the laws should match that energy with the same reckless abandonment.

The penalties should include impounding the vehicle, jail time, and forcing the person to pay for the harm they caused. While this won’t make Sierra whole, it can go a long way to helping her recover financially.

If you know who struck Sierra, please contact Milwaukee police at (414) 935-7219 or you can anonymously leave a tip at Crime Stoppers at (414) 224-TIPS (8477).

Reach James E. Causey at [email protected]; follow him on X@jecausey.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee hit and run nearly killed her child. Fines aren't enough