Campaigned for accountability for chronic traffic violators
By Will Collette
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| Robin Foote, Providence Journal photo by Kathy Bourchers |
The Jamestown Press reported former Quonnie resident and traffic safety activist Robin Foote died on March 27 due to complications following surgery.
Mr. Foote became a public figure unwillingly, spurred by
the May
2010 unlawful death of his son Colin at the intersection of Route 1 and
West Beach Road. He was killed by Laura Reale, a habitual dangerous driver,
when she ran the red light and broadsided Colin, killing him on the spot.
Robin and his wife Maryann worked closely with then state
Rep. Donna
Walsh to win the 2011 passage of “Colin’s Law” that cracked down on habitual offenders
like Reale.
Reale gamed the system at the time to avoid serious
consequences for her repeated arrests for dangerous driving. Reale is also the
niece of Charlestown’s longtime state Senator Dennis Algiere. He denied using
his substantial political influence to prevent Reale from losing her license.
The Foote family also became major advocates for installing
red-light cameras on Route 1, including the one that now covered the
intersection where their son Colin died. They overcame the vehement
resistance to the cameras from the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA)
followers. I believe Robin and Maryann helped sway public opinion enough to force the
CCA-controlled Town Council to greenlight the cameras.
These issues may figure in this year’s Democratic primary on
Wednesday, September 9. That primary will feature a challenge to our
hard-working state Rep. Tina Spears by a MAGA DINO Leah Boisclair.
Tina holds the House District 36 seat that was once held by Donna Walsh.
Boisclair is supported by the League of Rhode Island Businesses (LORIB), run by Republican MAGA and gun wingnut David Levesque. Boisclair is a lawyer whose practice is focused on defending clients
charged with some of the most heinous crimes (e.g. sex crimes against children)
but also including this self-promo on her website:
If Robin was still alive, I think I know where he would
stand.
