Husband joins Charlotte’s call for ‘Vision Zero’ after fatal wreck
On the day Valerie Lee Strode was killed by a speeding driver, she’d been out doing last-minute Christmas shopping and her husband David was at home putting up a new light fixture.
David Counter remembers the knock at the door that afternoon.
He got off the step ladder he was using and opened the door.
A police lieutenant on the other side asked Counter if he owned a green Kia. His wife, who went by Lee, drove a blue Kia.
He told the officer that. “It could have been blue,” the officer responded. That was when Counter knew the crash was serious. Moments later, the lieutenant told him his wife was “deceased.”
That was seven months ago.
Strode was killed on Independence Boulevard, close to Matthews, on Dec. 23 by a speeding driver who was going 87 miles per hour — 32 miles over the speed limit. She was just five miles from home. The other driver was later charged with several crimes, including reckless driving.
In the following months, he searched for direction amid the pain that now loomed over him.
“I don’t want her just to be another statistic,” Counter said in a recent interview with The Charlotte Observer.
His wife’s death has been as “springboard” to take action and make North Carolina a safer place for people on the road.
With NC Families for Safe Streets and Vision Zero, Counter has turned to advocacy. Vision Zero began in Sweden in the 90s and has been adopted by Charlotte city leaders to eliminate all traffic deaths by year 2050. On Sunday from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., the groups are hosting with Counter an event to raise awareness about speeding in honor of his wife. The event takes place at Freedom Park in Charlotte, in Shelter 2.
Celtic music and bagpipes will also appear at the event, as Strode was a member of a Celtic Society. She also studied Bhuddist philosophy and enjoyed science fiction and self-improvement books, especially “You are a Badass,” by Jen Sincero.
She and Counter met at a club in Orlando, and married on Fisherman’s Key before moving to Richmond, VA in 2011. From Richmond, they moved to Delaware and finally settled in North Carolina last March. Strode adored North Carolina and the house they purchased in July 2021, Counter said.
“Lee loved it so much that she wanted this to be her last address,” Counter said. “Tragically, she got her wish.”
Both Counter and his family were devastated. Although his family lived in England and only met Strode a few times, they adored her. She was a constant source of light and easy to get along with, her husband said.
“Lee always brought fresh new ideas and a willingness to share her technical expertise with everyone,” said Jeraldyn Rivest, Strode’s manager at U.S. Bank, where the 53-year-old Strode worked as a data analyst. “ I used to joke that she was “Python Queen” given her talents in this area ... I will miss her positive, upbeat attitude.”
Safe driving event in Charlotte
Because of her joyful nature, Counter knows his wife would not want people to be saddened by her death. The event is both a celebration of her life and an opportunity for advocacy, he said.
Counter hopes the event encourages the public to strive toward Vision Zero’s goal, which is to reduce traffic deaths to zero.
“I’ve heard people say, ‘well, that’s never going to happen,’” Counter said. “But if you don’t have a goal in mind, you’re never gonna get anywhere.”
Over the last five years, 1,852 people have been killed in speeding-related crashes in North Carolina, according to Vision Zero. In Counter’s eyes, each of these wrecks was preventable.
This story was originally published July 14, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story gave the wrong day for the Vision Zero event and the year Charlotte city leaders hope to eliminate all traffic deaths.
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