By SHANNON O. WELLS
Family and friends remember Emily Watson’s love of animals — cats, in particular — as well as her passion for creative writing, literature and film, including fantasy books and film series like “Harry Potter” and “The Hunger Games.” A certified CPR instructor, Watson’s desire to help others led to a supervisory role in the UPMC Transport Department.
On a cold, windy late afternoon on Dec. 6, a group of mourners and pedestrian safety advocates gathered at the corner of Terrace Street and Sutherland Drive near Petersen Events Center to reflect on the Pittsburgh resident, who was struck and killed at the intersection by a UPMC shuttle bus on Nov. 29.
Unable to light candles amid the chilly gusts, a group of around 25 community members and Pitt students held aloft lights and smartphones while quietly sharing memories of Watson.
James Dell, who worked with Watson in 2018 at the Sears store in the South Hills Village mall, called her a “kind, caring, honest person who would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it.”
Representatives from Complete Streets at Pitt, a student-led bike and pedestrian advocacy group, and Bike PGH, a similarly focused nonprofit organization, spoke to honor Watson’s life and memory and call for improved traffic safety measures. Complete Streets President Harrison Romero emphasized that the event — though organized by advocacy groups — was “not a protest.”
“We are here to remember the life of Emily Watson and other victims of traffic violence and remind the community that these fatal accidents are avoidable,” he said, calling Watson a “valued member of the UPMC and greater Pittsburgh community.”
“Emily spent every day caring for others and teaching aspiring healthcare providers how to do the same. She worked with many Pitt students and made a lasting impression — that healthcare can be both professional and personal,” Romero added. “We hope that we are able to impart on each of you the sadness we feel as a community, along with the inspiration that we can make a difference and take action to one day eliminate traffic fatalities altogether.”
At around 9:25 a.m. Nov. 29, Watson was crossing Terrace Street near Petersen Events Center when she was struck by a UPMC shuttle bus. Pittsburgh Police said bystanders administered CPR until responding firefighters took over. Pittsburgh EMS transported Watson to nearby UPMC Presbyterian hospital in critical condition, where she later succumbed to her injuries. Police are still investigating the incident. (See related story).
A graduate of Point Park University, Watson earned her bachelor's degree in English and creative writing in 2017, her obituary said. Watson’s career was marked by a “relentless work ethic and her natural leadership, which earned her the respect and admiration of her colleagues,” the notice said.
Safety at the forefront
“This tragic event has had a profound impact on the UPMC and Pitt communities,” a UPMC spokesman said on Dec. 1, noting the hospital system is partnering with Pitt to review public safety protocols “throughout the Oakland campus, to bolster safety measures.”
David DeJong, Pitt’s senior vice chancellor for business and operations, addressed the tragedy at the Dec. 7 Senate Council meeting. “We mourn (Watson’s) loss, and the community's hearts go out to her family, her friends and her colleagues at UPMC,” he said. “To everyone here, please know that the safety and well-being of the University community is our absolute top priority. And we have been, and will continue to work with, our partners: with the city, UPMC, CMU, all of our neighborhoods and everyone who is part of the Pitt community to support a safe campus.
“This takes all of us, and I want to thank our students and our faculty and our staff for their continued feedback and support around pedestrian safety,” he added.
On Dec. 11, Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman, and U.S. Representatives Summer Lee (District 14) and Chris Deluzio (District 17), all Democrats, announced $520,000 in federal funding for the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission to develop a comprehensive plan to make Allegheny County streets safer for all road users.
Funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All grant will allow the commission to create a Vision Zero Safety Action Plan to identify critical projects. After launching the initiative in Allegheny County, the commission plans to expand it to other member counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania, building on previous efforts, including the 2020 Regional Transportation Safety Action Plan.
“The bottom line is that we are facing a street-safety crisis in America — and in Pennsylvania,” Fetterman said in a news release. “The thousands of lives we lose due to unsafe streets is unacceptable, and it’s long past time we in Washington do something about it. This funding will provide Allegheny County with the resources they need to make streets safer for everyone on the roads."
‘We must do better’
At the memorial for Watson, members of the safety advocacy groups noted that the Nov. 29 tragedy was far from an isolated incident.
The accident occurred just a few blocks from where a Pitt student was killed in January 2020. Barbara Como, 20, of Chester Springs, Pa., was struck by a Port Authority bus as she crossed DeSoto Street at Fifth Avenue. In January 2021, bus driver Shavonne James pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person.
In November, Complete Streets at Pitt dedicated a “ghost bike” street-side memorial to honor Rui Hui Lin, a cyclist who in 2010 was struck and killed by a car at the intersection of Louisa Street and Meyran Avenue.
“Never so soon did we expect to be on the side of the street mourning the loss of an innocent life,” Romero said. “Never do we want to hold one of these memorial events again, because these tragedies — and the heartbreak they cause — are entirely preventable. As a new student organization on campus, we will always do everything we can to raise awareness of these major problems and their deadly consequences.”
Neil Cahill, Complete Streets at Pitt communications chair, said in Pittsburgh a pedestrian is hit by a vehicle “every 34 hours,” and “approximately 20 to 25 people are killed each year while traveling our roads, a third of them being pedestrians.
“We must do better to create safer conditions on our roads by improving sightlines for vehicles, (adding) traffic calming measures … and increasing enforcement of traffic laws,” he added. “The implementation of these necessary and vital improvements will put Pittsburgh one step closer to ensuring that there are no more deaths due to unsafe conditions.”
Pitt sophomore Derek Haeussler, who attends class in an upper campus building near where Watson was killed, said while some drivers in the area “can be antagonistic at times,” he finds “a good portion of the drivers around are pretty peaceful (and) do respect pedestrians and bikers. But a lot of drivers just don’t respect pedestrians and bikers — and our rights.”
While he helped promote the memorial event on social media, Haeussler said he wished more people had shown up “to spread the word.”
“Hopefully the administration will do something about this, and it will prevent more accidents like this happening in the future.”
Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
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