A driver fatally struck Alexandria as she walked across the last lane in a nearly ten-lane highway – GA-10, or Memorial Drive. The investigators and police report ruled it an accident, saying Alexandria was at fault because she didn’t have the crosswalk light.

Aside from questioning if the walk light was even working at the time, Kizzy still wonders why a toxicology report that included a blood alcohol level test was performed on her daughter’s body, while police didn’t administer a field sobriety test for the driver. The driver walked away without charges.

Memorial Drive and Hambrick Road, frequent crash site. Image: Google Streetview

Alexandria, 20, was excited about breaking down and cleaning industrial baking machines at night. She liked the sense of responsibility and the financial independence was icing on the cake.

Alexandria’s ultimate goal was to become a doula. Alexandria had a way with babies and children, according to her mother. When she worked in the infant room at a daycare with her grandmother, Alexandria “fell in love with the fragility of life and wanted to cater to that,” said Kizzy. “She had a tender spot for kids that she didn’t necessarily have for adult humanity.” 

Photo courtesy of Kizzy Stewart

As the self-proclaimed “Realest Alive,” Alexandria wasn’t one for the masks adults sometimes wear. About her daughter, Kizzy said: “She wasn’t a faker. She wasn’t the type of person who could go with the status quo because that’s what’s in… She was a very independent thinker.” She had a lot of life figured out already and seemed to inherently know how to freely give from her heart, how to celebrate others, and how to be honest, just, and fair.

Her youngest child’s wisdom beyond her years isn’t the only thing Kizzy misses. Alexandria was her laughing buddy in Atlanta. Kizzy and Alexandria would sometimes chase full moons or watch planes take off and land together. Originally from Louisiana, Kizzy’s two other adult children still lived there when tragedy struck. 

After learning a great deal about how many other people had been hit by vehicles, Kizzy felt less alone and was stirred to advocate for pedestrian safety. She hopes to see sobriety tests required by law in addition to infrastructure improvements: lanes and speed limits reduced, better illumination, and adequate sidewalks. 

“[Pedestrians] need to be protected. They don’t have bumpers.” Kizzy doesn’t want Alexandria’s or any other victim’s story to be in vain: “Something definitely has to be done… If one of Alex’s purposes was for her life to bring awareness, it’s in me now.” 

“Everyone should be able to travel and do things; it doesn’t matter if it’s three in the morning or three in the afternoon.”