Sunday, October 13, 2024

Her son died in a car crash. Now this mother is advocating for change

Connor Guido was one of three Tabb High School teens killed in a car crash in 2019. His mom, Tammy McGee, is advocating for a bill to change the requirements for parking permits and add more education about distracted driving to the 10th grade curriculum. (WYDaily/ Courtesy of Tammy McGee)

After Tammy McGee was laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic, managing the Gweedo Memorial Fund — named after her son, Conner Guido — and advocating for a bill is now her full-time job.

“This has been the last 14 months of my life,” she added.

If HB1918 — or as McGee calls, it “Conner’s Law” — passes, all high schools in the state would be required to have a uniformed parking pass permit, with each high school verifying a valid driver’s license or “driver’s privilege card” prior to permit approval.

In addition, the bill also includes a requirement for a 10th grade curriculum about the dangers of distracted driving and speeding. The bill passed the General Assembly unanimously and is headed to Gov. Ralph Northam’s desk.

Guido, 16, was one of three boys from Tabb High School who died in a car crash on Oct. 26, 2019.

RELATED STORY: 3 teens killed in York County crash

State Police spokesperson Sgt. Michelle Anaya said in an email on Feb. 25 that factors in the crash included: “speed, inexperienced driver, high-performance vehicle, unfamiliarity with roadway, but speed was excessive — no breaking or skids marks prior to crashing off the roadway.”

McGee hopes that the education portion of the bill will teach teenagers to recognize that they are operating a “killing vehicle” and hopes that parents will get on board, too.

“If you look up the statistics on teen driving and teenage death, reckless driving, speeding is still the number one cause of death,” she added.

Katherine Goff, spokeswoman for the YCSD, said on Monday per the school division’s policy, it could not comment on specific student or employee matters.

Goff said that prior to the 2021 school year, parking passes were considered a “school-based process,” meaning each school’s process was different.

For Tabb High School, Goff noted the school had several procedures requiring a “parental signature and address, some other details related to the driver’s license and the need for a parking pass in a vehicle.”

According to page 38 of the YCSD Student Handbook, “only those students in work-study programs, in mentorships and practicums, with medical excuses, or with special permission of the principal have permission to have vehicles on school property.”

The handbook does not specify if a student requires a license in order to be issued a permit.

Doug Hartley, associate director of school administration & compliance at YSCD, said over the phone on Feb. 26 that last school year, students could purchase a parking permit if they had a learner’s permit, but the actual parking permit itself would not be issued until the student had their license.

“There is a bit of a wait time with parking permits, so we allowed students to buy them in advance so they wouldn’t have to wait,” he added.

Now, YCSD high school students must wait until they have their driver’s license to fill out the paperwork to purchase a parking permit, according to Hartley.

As for the division’s driving curriculum, YCSD Chief Operations Officer Jim Carroll said over the phone on Feb. 26 there have been no changes to the curriculum subjects, but the state is reviewing its standards of learning concerning driving.

McGee hopes that this bill will help prevent future crashes like the one which killed her son.

“I can’t comment as to what other schools in York County do or don’t do … I don’t know if they have had an instance like ours but this bill is to protect those students going forward,” she added.

Besides advocating for the bill, McGee will continue to run the nonprofit she created in Guido’s name, The Gweedo Memorial Fund, which now sponsors a scholarship for high school seniors.

In addition, McGee created the “If You See Something Say Something” website, which allows teens to send anonymous tips about driving, bullying drugs and other topics.

McGee plans to expand the website’s reach beyond the local schools and advocate for a nationwide bill requiring all high schools to sponsor the bill.

“I think it’s important that we refer to it as Conner’s Law,” she said, adding this is an opportunity to honor him. “I can’t help Conner anymore but I can help other people and that’s what we are trying to do.”

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Julia Marsigliano
Julia Marsiglianohttp://wydaily.com
Julia Marsigliano is a multimedia reporter for WYDaily. She covers everything on the Peninsula from local government and law enforcement agencies to family-run businesses and weather updates. Before WYDaily, she covered Hampton and Newport News for WYDaily’s sister publication, HNNDaily before both publications merged in December 2018. Julia was born in Tokyo, Japan and moved to Long Island, New York in 2001. A true New Yorker, she loves pizza, bagels and good Chinese food. Send comments, tips and other tidbits to julia@localvoicemedia.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @jmarsigliano

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