‘Gabby’s Light’ in Worcester honors life of 20-year-old struck and killed by texting driver; mother asks peop - MassLive.com

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Alyson Lowell wiped tears from her eyes Wednesday, choking up with emotion as she stood just feet from where her 20-year-old daughter was struck and killed by a driver texting at the wheel nearly three years ago.

The tears did fade for a smile when Lowell was able to press the button on a new traffic light installed in honor of her daughter, Gabriella “Gabby” Lowell, bright lights telling signaling to drivers on Grafton Street to stop for pedestrians. Lowell and family members entered the crosswalk together.

“Gabby lit up a room. It’s fitting that she has a light in her honor,” Lowell said in front of city officials and loved ones who donned T-shirts bearing Gabby’s face and name.

“Her heart was big and her smile was contagious,” Lowell continued. “She loved to help others and I know that she is smiling down from heaven, happy that she could potentially save someone from having the same fate as her.”

Lowell asked city officials to have the light stood up at a crosswalk by the Roosevelt Elementary School, where Gabby was fatally struck in June 2018. The driver had checked a text message of a thumbs-up emoji when he hit Gabby.

Now, a traffic light dubbed “Gabby’s Light” stands in that spot, to alert drivers to a pedestrian crossing the road, as well as a plaque bearing Gabby’s name.

Lowell placed her hands on the plaque, running her fingers over Gabby’s name, again bringing tears to her eyes.

Gabriella Lowell was walking on Grafton Street in Worcester on June 12, 2018, when she was struck and killed. (Courtesy photo)

Lowell paused and said she wanted to bring a moment of reality to the ceremony in her daughter’s honor. She pointed down the road behind her.

“Gabby was struck in that crosswalk over there. She flew 66 feet in the air and landed in this crosswalk,” Lowell explained. “That is the reality of texting and driving and I ask you to please put down your phones and pay attention.”

In 2019, Tyler Hamilton admitting to checking a text before striking Gabby, pleading guilty to a charge of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation. He was sentenced to serve four years of probation and a 15-year loss of his license.

At the crosswalk on Wednesday, Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. called the crash a tragedy that could have been easily avoided.

“While it’s great to see the safety light being installed here, you know that the reason at the end of it is a woman lost her life and a mother lost her daughter,” Early said.

Everyone is on their phone, Early said, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic began. He urged people to put their phones down.

“And this is, look, not a gentle reminder, it’s a hard reminder. Things like this happen and they happen all the time,” Early said.

Gabby had aspired to become a veterinarian and was remembered for making those around her laugh.

“A simple, fun-loving young lady, she cherished the time with her family, her friends and her cat,” family wrote in her obituary. “She loved music, dancing, macaroni and cheese, swimming, the beaches of Rhode Island, playing basketball, cruises and shopping with mom and grandma.”

Mayor Joseph Petty on Wednesday recalled that Gabby was pursuing a degree at Quinsigamond Community College. She grew up on Grafton Hill and was a graduate of North High School.

“This is a story of a promising young life being ended prematurely, that’s been played out time and time again across our commonwealth and our country,” Petty said.

Worcester District 3 City Councilor George Russell thanked Lowell for advocating for the light installation.

“Thank you to Alyson for standing up for this neighborhood and putting her grief aside and being able to put this up so every kid that comes across that street not only is safe, but looks at this and says this is a reminder that we have to grow up to be safe drivers, to be aware of our surroundings, and to not let this tragedy happen again,” Russell said.

Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. said the signal not only honors Gabby but hopefully will spare another family from tragedy.

“This is going to literally save people’s lives,” Augustus said. “What a great legacy. What a great tribute.”

Last year, when a hands-free law in hands-free driving law took effect in Massachusetts, Lowell called texting and driving an addiction that has cost lives.

“She was my only child and the light of my life,” Lowell wrote in a letter at the time. “She was robbed of her life at the tender age of 20.”

Alyson Lowell (left) holds a picture of her daughter, Gabriella, who was killed by a distracted driver. Emily Stein, the president of Safe Roads Alliance, and Worcester Police accident investigator Thomas Feraco joined Lowell as a distracting driving campaign was announced in Worcester.

Related Content:

• ‘This is going to be a hard addiction to break’: Worcester officials start campaign against distracted driving as hands-free law begins soon
• Tyler Hamilton sentenced to probation, loss of license for 15 years in texting-and-driving crash that killed 20-year-old Gabriella Lowell in Worcester

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‘Gabby’s Light’ in Worcester honors life of 20-year-old struck and killed by texting driver; mother asks peop - MassLive.com
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