In 2002, Theresa Sareo, an up-and-coming singer, had her life changed forever when a reckless driver hit her as she stood on a Manhattan sidewalk waiting to cross the street. She lost her leg and nearly died, making her one of the millions of people injured by automobiles in the United States every year. In New York City alone, the toll was more than 59,000 people in 2018. Theresa tells her story of recovery and resilience in the face of overwhelming odds.
You can find the full transcript of this episode here.
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Show notes:
Find Theresa Sareo on Instagram, @ladytcup.
Read the New York magazine article about the crash and its aftermath.
Find data about auto-related injuries and fatalities on New York City’s crash data map.
Follow us on Twitter: @TheWarOnCars. Sarah Goodyear @buttermilk1, Doug Gordon @brooklynspoke, and Aaron Naparstek @Naparstek. This episode was produced and edited by Sarah Goodyear.
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You guys need to do more episodes like this – highlighting the stories of victims and/or the families of victims who didn’t survive. I understand that you probably don’t want to have tons of dark episodes – because this episode was indeed dark and my heart goes out to this strong woman – but to me episodes like this that show the real human impact of our car culture will resonate more and bring more folks in. Way more than talking about street design, zoning, and modes of transportation. Those are important and have a place of course, but real stories like this hit home.
Theresa you have a beautiful voice and are stronger than most of us.