There was a moment in the ambulance when Veronica Watts stopped breathing. She had just been hit, in a Midtown crosswalk, by a speeding driver who failed to stop. The impact with the driver’s windshield had thrown her 38 feet into the air and sent her skidding across the ground. She awoke in Grady Memorial Hospital, eight hours later, with a tube down her throat and many of her teeth missing.
Veronica Watts revisits the intersection where she was struck by a driver. Photos: Justin Blaine Miller/Propel ATL
She would be in therapy for concussion symptoms for another four months and would receive an implanted set of teeth to replace the ones she lost. Despite all this, the police report on her crash labeled her injuries as “minor.”
Due to misreporting by police and an insurance technicality, Veronica’s civil settlement covered just her medical bills and loss of pay. “I thought there were protections for people,” she says. “And this made me realize that there really are not.”
Since her recovery, Veronica has thrown herself into research on pedestrian safety and discovered that legislation on the topic hadn’t been updated in over a decade. She has since made it her mission to act as a liaison between victim advocates, pedestrian safety organizations, and legislators.
With the sponsorship of Sen. Elena Parent, Victoria has championed SR 216, a resolution in the Georgia State Senate that would establish a study committee, with representation from traffic-violence victims, dedicated to analyzing pedestrian safety and crafting new legislation on the subject. At this writing (March 24, 2025) SR 216 has passed the Senate's Public Safety Committee unanimously and is awaiting a hearing in the Rules Committee before hopefully moving to the Senate floor for discussion.
While Veronica’s work under the Gold Dome has brought attention to her situation, the pending criminal case will not include financial support, leaving her struggling to make ends meet. She also expresses how disheartened and frustrated she feels for people who may not have the same privilege and resources.
“So many people blame the person who got hit and not the [driver] who hit the other person,” she says. “There's a lot of victim blaming…There needs to be a step away from this individual mindset where only your life matters."
