HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- A driver has been charged in a crash that killed a grandmother just steps from her daughter's front door in Henrico's West End over the summer.
Henrico Police said 53-year-old Jodell Alvis, of Henrico County, was charged Monday on an indictment of reckless driving.
The charge stems from a crash that killed 76-year-old Lucy Le.
Officers were called to the 500 block of Welwyn Road around 8:40 a.m. on July 27, 2020, for a crash involving a pedestrian, police said.
"A 2012 Jeep Cherokee was backing out of a driveway and struck the victim," officers said.
Le died of her injuries.
Laura Pho, Le's daughter told Greg McQuade in a September interview that her mother had started her morning walk, which she said was her quiet time to connect with nature, when the unimaginable happened.
"She struck Mom, who was walking, reversed over her, and then ran over her again to return to her driveway," Le's daughter Laura Pho posted on social media. “It was a horrific scene."
Alvis is due back in court on March 25 for a status hearing on the misdemeanor charge.
Victim remembered as 'incredibly kind' grandmother
Out of the tragedy, Pho told McQuade she has been channeling her energy by raising awareness about pedestrian safety.
“All of the people who are victims of traffic violence, fatalities or injuries... those are the heroes. It is incumbent upon us to move their legacy forward and make the streets safer," she said.
Pho joined the non-profit Sports Backers Bike Walk RVA in hopes of preventing similar crashes. When she is not visiting the roadside memorial her family created to "reclaim and beautify... the jarring scene," the mother of two makes offerings at an altar dedicated to Lucy.
“It is a way of showing love and honor and care and devotion," Pho explained. "My mother’s spirit is so expansive. Her heart so gracious, so incredibly kind."
