The midday sun hung over Ayeshia Poole’s shoulder as she explained the ambitious goal her daughter Jayanna Powell had once set for herself.

Jayanna could sing and dance her heart out — she had memorized the lyrics to Beyoncé’s 2011 song “Love On Top,” along with the smooth dance moves from the song’s video — but she aspired to be more than just a pop star.

When she was in the second grade, Jayanna had told her mother that she planned to be the first black woman elected to the US presidency. It was a tender thought, a child’s dream, open and big as the sky.

On November 18, 2016, Jayanna and her older brother, Hassan Cox, were crossing 63rd Street near Lansdowne Avenue in West Philly and were struck by a Nissan Altima that had swerved around a stopped trolley.

Cox, then 12, suffered knee injuries. Jayanna was thrown nearly 100 feet through the air and died later that day. She was 8 years old.

Poole replayed that story — her daughter’s endearing precocity, the endless pain of her death — Sunday in West Philly’s Carroll Park, where other grieving families gathered to mark World Road Traffic Day.

“Every day,” Poole said, “is extremely hard.”

The World Day of Remembrance was started in 1992 by a mother, Brigitte Chaudhrywhose son had been hit and killed by a driver who ran a red light in south London.

The extension of the Philadelphia event, organized by the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, was a grim affair.

A slight autumnal chill hung in the air and the names of the 106 people who have died in road accidents in the city so far this year were read aloud. Some mourners gathered yellow carnations and held up photos of their loved ones.

There has been talk, from city and state officials, of legislative action to address vehicular violence.

“Every neighborhood deserves safe streets,” said City Councilman Jamie Gauthier.

Earlier this year, an Inquirer report found that the city had recorded 577 driving-related deaths between 2020 and 2023; one third of these victims were pedestrians. Drivers in Philadelphia are involved in fatal crashes at more than double the rate of those in Boston and triple the rate of drivers in New York City, according to the data. a 2023 report on city traffic safety.

In October, the City Council approved a bill to ban drivers stopping for any length of time on a bike path. Violators could be fined $125 in Center City and $75 in other areas.

Council members voted 17-0 to pass the legislation, which followed a series of horrific car accidents which left pedestrians dead or seriously injured.

A midsummer day brought into focus the prevalence of traffic violence in the city.

Around 4:30 p.m. on July 17, a driver, Sekia Spencer, allegedly hit a 26-year-old woman crossing the 5800 block of Chew Avenue in Germantown, according to Philadelphia police. The victim was thrown into Spencer’s windshield and was taken to Einstein Medical Center in critical condition.

Spencer, 40, was charged with aggravated assault while driving under the influence and related offenses.

A few hours later, at 7 p.m., Barbara Friedes, a 30-year-old medical resident specializing in pediatric oncology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, was hit and killed by an alleged drunken driver while riding his bicycle on the 1800 block of Spruce Street.

The driver, Michael Vahey, 68, was later charged with vehicular homicide while driving under the influence, involuntary manslaughter and related offenses.

Minutes after Friedes was fatally struck, Christopher Cabrera, 38, was standing at the corner of Frankford and East Allegheny avenues in Kensington when he was struck by a speeding Toyota that police said was veered onto the curb.

Cabrera died at the scene and the driver, Christopher Sorensen, 41, was later accused of murder with the vehicle.

“Drivers,” Gauthier said, “are more reckless than ever.”

Mario D’Adamo II called for drivers to face longer mandatory prison terms for driving while intoxicated, leaving the scene of accidents or being involved in fatal collisions.

His son, Mario D’Adamo III, a 37-year-old attorney and avid cyclist, was riding on a bike path in South Philly’s sprawling FDR Park on August 4, 2023, when he hit by a Tesla and killed.

Police said the driver, 68-year-old Thomas Ford, attempted to flee the scene of the crash. Ford was later charged with vehicular homicide while driving under the influence and involuntary manslaughter.

D’Adamo can’t escape the nightmare of his son’s final hours: seeing his wife cradle their boy’s head in a hospital, the devastation of hearing he had died, then being told by an undertaker that his injuries were too serious to allow open coffin viewing.

“The impact on our family has been devastating,” D’Adamo said quietly.

In 2016, then-Mayor Jim Kenney created a Vision Zero task forcewhich was meant to pursue policy and infrastructure changes that could ultimately end traffic deaths in the city.

The point is not far-fetched; other cities, such as Hoboken, NJand Jersey Cityhave already eliminated traffic deaths through similar efforts.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker faced criticism earlier this year for reducing city expenses on Vision Zero with over $1 million in its first budget. Parker’s administration, however, insisted that this characterization was wrong, noting that it was spending $1.25 million on other speed enforcement measures and traffic calming measures.

There is another policy idea, one that is close to Ayeshia Poole’s heart.

The driver who hit and killed Jayanna, Paul Woodlyn III, was convicted in 2017 of involuntary manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person and sentenced to 4 1/2 to nine years to state prison, followed by nine years of probation.

Woodlyn had tried to have her car repaired at a Chester County body shop, claiming it had been damaged by a deer.

So Poole and her sister, Jasmine Hoffman, came up with an idea for an Amber Alert-style status notification system — Alerts Jay — which would broadcast to body shops and garages information about cars that have been involved in hit-and-run accidents.

In 2017, state Sen. Anthony Williams introduced legislation to bring Poole’s vision to life. The bill has languished in the Senate ever since.

State Rep. Morgan Cephas plans to introduce similar legislation in the House. CBS News reported that PennDot estimated it would be it cost about $375,000 to create a Jay Alerts system, a process that would only take 10 months.

“Every time you go on the news or look at the paper, you see hit-and-run stories,” Poole said. “My heart hurts.”