Sitting in front of the Town Council in a wheelchair, Kelly Hamann-Book emotionally relayed what's happened to her since she was hit by a vehicle on South Main Street on Dec. 17.

"I was the pedestrian who was hit on Main Street," the West Hartford resident said at Tuesday night's meeting. "I spent 15 days in the hospital. I had suffered two broken legs, two broken cervical vertebrae that have been fused, two surgeries on my right leg, which may or may not be usable in the future, spinal nerve injuries, a traumatic brain injury."

Hamann-Book spoke on the night the Town Council would consider and later approve a resolution that commits West Hartford to a Vision Zero policy to eliminate all roadway fatalities and serious injuries. The move came after five roadway deaths — two of which were pedestrians — in the span of a week at the end of December. Three people died in a two-vehicle crash on Christmas morning.

Hamann-Book said she is the living result of the aftermath of vehicular violence.

"Prior to my injury, I was a nurse practitioner at Hartford Hospital in endocrinology," she said. "I don’t know that this is something that I’m going to be able to do after what has happened. I’m scared I might not be able to do my job again. I hope that I can. It’s not just the people who died; it’s the people who survived, too. While my injuries might not have been life-threatening, they’re definitely life-altering. It’s really important to recognize that we live in a town right now where people don’t feel safe."

- Casey