GREEN LAKE, Wis. — A Green Lake family is pushing for legislative change after learning the 85-year-old woman who struck and killed their 12-year-old son while he was riding his bike will not face criminal charges.
Emmet Zodrow was killed this summer near the Green Lake Library while riding his bicycle on the sidewalk. Police say Jean Woolley of Germantown was attempting to park her car when she hit the boy, pressing the accelerator twice instead of the brake.
Previous Coverage: No criminal charges to be filed in deadly Green Lake car on bicycle crash
"He loved this town. He loved life so much. Everybody knew it. You just felt it when he was around," said Angela Zodrow, Emmet's mother.
Body camera footage shows Woolley explaining what happened immediately after the crash.
"I put the brake on and it was the accelerator, and then I panicked and pushed it harder," Woolley said in the footage.
Watch: Green Lake family seeks change after 12-year-old killed; driver faces no charges
Woolley appeared visibly upset and later said the incident was an accident.
"She took an innocent child's life. That's more than just an accident. Was it intentional? No, but that's a lot of carelessness," Zodrow said.
The Green Lake Police Department determined Woolley was not criminally negligent. An investigation found she was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol and was not distracted at the time of the crash.
The Green Lake District Attorney confirmed no further charges will be filed but declined to comment further.
"You're supposed to maintain control of your vehicle. You're supposed to be aware of your surroundings," Zodrow said.
She doesn't think Woolley should be thrown in prison, but Angela does believe the 85-year-old should not be allowed to drive.
The family is now advocating for state-level changes to better monitor drivers and examine their ability to drive, especially after tragic incidents like this one.
"When you see a person can make a mistake so big and so bad that a child dies and they can keep on driving, what stops anybody from ever saying I probably shouldn't be driving anymore," Zodrow said.
"It doesn't make sense to let this person keep driving like this. How is there nothing we can do," she said.
The Zodrow family plans to meet with the governor's office again on Friday to discuss potential legislative changes.
Emmet's memory will live on through various community initiatives the family is working on. Through GoFundMe, they have already raised more than $80,000 to keep his spirit alive.
They've also launched a Facebook group called Emmet is Love to share memories of the boy.
This story was reported on-air by Mike Beiermeister and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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