Scott Mc Kiernan Presents zReportage.com Issue #1050 Story of the Week: Published TUESDAY August 11, 2026: ‘SEEING JUSTICE: A Mom Fights Back’ from ZUMA represented Pulitzer winner RENEE C. BYER and investigative reporter ARIANE LANGE both staff at The Sacramento Bee: Sacramento mother Allison Lyman fights for justice after her son, Connor Lopez, was killed by a driver in a collision often dismissed by legal systems as a minor accident. The story highlights how California law often treats such deaths as misdemeanors rather than severe criminal offenses, sparking a push for greater accountability. Roughly 10 people die every day on California roadways and the state averages roughly 3,800 to 4,000 traffic fatalities per year, placing it second in the nation behind Texas. Officials have acknowledged that the vast majority of these traffic fatalities are preventable with changes to infrastructure and policy. ”Death and serious injuries are unacceptable,” the California State Transportation Agency says. But roadway safety and public transportation are chronically underfunded, and the death toll has continued to rise. Only a minority of car crash deaths lead to criminal charges, but for those that do, the outcomes are quite unlike many other homicides. Welcome to ‘SEEING JUSTICE: A Mom Fights Back’
Scott Mc Kiernan, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, ZUMA Press
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