Fitting Memorials Will Avert Tragedies

Some parents who have lost a child miss hearing the sound of that child’s name. Friends might not utter it out of fear it will upset the grieving mother and father. Yet parents often hunger to hear the name because it’s a reminder that their wonderful son or daughter once lived, laughed and loved in the world.

For the past two months, the name Cooper Jones filled Washington state legislative halls and meeting rooms. His name was repeated again and again, in e-mail messages and in media reports.

The 13-year-old Spokane boy died last summer, a week after being hit on his bicycle near Cheney while competing in a time trial. The 65-year-old woman driver who hit him was fined $250.

Cooper’s parents, David and Martha Jones, fought hard for legislation that might help prevent similar tragedies in the future. Thursday, on the last day of the session, the Cooper Jones Act passed. Gov. Gary Locke is expected to sign it into law. The act requires some drivers in serious accidents to retake their driver’s test. It also encourages drivers to learn about bicyclists’ rights and it provides $100,000 for bicycle safety education.

Cooper’s parents spent hundreds of hours researching, lobbying and making sense of the Byzantine process of turning lifesaving ideas into legislation. They had much support from friends and from those in the bicycle community who knew and loved Cooper.

The Coopers, mostly through e-mail, educated those supporters about the struggles and nuances of the state legislative process. Their education was invaluable, drawing into the civic process many people who might not have been drawn there before.

During state legislative sessions, the legislators and lobbyists garner most of the attention. They are already experts. The pioneers in the process are folks such as Cooper’s parents. And the family of C.J. Norton.

C.J., a 3-year-old Lynnwood boy, was killed in 1994 when a diaper delivery truck backed over him. For three years, C.J.’s family fought for legislation that would require mirrors or backup warning devices on commercial delivery trucks. This session, their hard work paid off and the safety devices are now required.

These new laws will not bring back to life Cooper Jones or little C.J. And the grief of their families will live on forever. But both families used part of that grief to make a difference in lives of people they will probably never meet. And the names of the children they lost - Cooper Jones and C.J. Norton - will live on as well.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Rebecca Nappi/For the editorial board