Green Lake, WI – Theโฃ family of โ12-year-old Emmet Zodrow, who was fatally struck by a โvehicle in green Lake onโ June 25, is advocatingโฃ forโ changes to Wisconsin‘s elderly driver licensingโฃ laws following the incident. According to reports from WBAY, Emmet โคwas riding his bikeโ to the local library when an 85-year-old woman, Jean Woolly, accidentally โคaccelerated rather of braking, driving onto the sidewalk and fatally injuring him.
Emmet was with two friends atโ the time of the crash,which occurred around 10 a.m. on an otherwise empty street, his father, John Zodrow, told WBAY.
Theโ family expressed devastation upon learning that Woolly would not face criminal charges, as she โขwas neither โฃunder the influence nor โdistracted during the incident. “He’sโข 12. He’ll be okay, he was by the library in town,โ how bad could it be?” Emmet’s โmother, Angela Zodrow, recalledโฃ thinking.”He did nothing wrong. he wasn’t at the corner, he โขwasn’t in the road.he wasn’t in the crosswalk; he was where he is supposed to be.”
In response, the Zodrow family has begun contacting lawmakers to propose reforms to the state’s driver renewal process. They areโ seeking an automatic, temporary license suspension following anโข accident, requiring a competency โคtestโ for reinstatement. They also advocate for broader elderly driver review and renewal reform inโค Wisconsin.
Currently, Wisconsinโ requires all drivers to renew โขtheir licenses every eight years, nonetheless of age. The familyโฃ points to โillinois as a potential model, where drivers over 75 must โคpass a road test to renewโข their licenses every two years, increasing to annual testing at age 87.
“You can kill aโ person,and nothing โchanges โin your life. Our whole lives changed, but โshe didn’t even lose her license,” Angela Zodrow stated to WBAY. โค”What do weโข need to do to stop her from? And I’m not saying she needed to lose her license,โ maybe โshe’s fine to drive, butโ if youโข can’t answer that she’s fine to drive, whyโค is she driving?”
The family hopes their efforts will lead โto preventative measures and prevent similar tragedies in the future.