Two Jefferson High School students wait to cross the street at a crosswalk.
BOB OWEN /San Antonio Express-News
MTSA
By Steven Santana
Updated
A man in Fort Bend County in Southeast Texas is going to be the first person prosecuted under a Texas law that hands down punishment for people who disregard pedestrian right-of-way at the crosswalk. The man, Bao Giang, will be prosecuted under the Lisa Torry Smith Act,
more commonly known as the crosswalk law, after he was arrested Friday, September 22, according to Texas news station KHOU.
Giang was charged for allegedly hitting Don Yeager at a crosswalk in a Fort Bend County subdivision while Yeager was walking his dog. Yeager was taken to the hospital where he later died.
Before, failing to yield to a pedestrian at a crosswalk wasn't illegal, but now a driver could face jail time if that the pedestrian is hit and injured while at a crosswalk under the new Texas law. Drivers must also come to a complete stop if a pedestrian is using a crosswalk.
The law was named after Lisa Torry Smith, who was struck and killed at a crosswalk in Missouri City, outside of Houston, in 2017. Lisa's widower Elliot Smith told KHOU that the driver that killed his wife wasn't paying attention. The law was written by Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton and sponsored by Texas Rep. Ron Reynolds and Sen. Joan Huffman. It went into effect in September 2021
The law also covers people who use crosswalks on a bicycle or in a wheelchair.