Family remembers 20-year-old killed in Toledo crosswalk crash

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - A family in Utah is grieving after 20-year-old Judy Tanner, who was living in Toledo, died following a crash in a marked crosswalk earlier this week.

Tanner had just left work and was walking home when she was hit. Her aunt, Michele Barnes, said the family is leaning on each other as they try to process what happened.

“Without her here, we just have this emptiness right now, that we are trying to figure out how to fill,” Barnes said.

Barnes remembers Tanner as sweet, kind-hearted and always willing to help someone else.

“Well we’re heartbroken over the situation, that we have lost her at such a young age and the shining light that she was,” Barnes said.

Tanner had just left work Wednesday and was walking home when police say she was hit in the crosswalk at Glendale and Oak Hill. She died from her injuries the following night.

Despite their loss, Barnes said the family has also thought about the woman behind the wheel.

“I don’t know her side of the story, and I’m sure she’s having a difficult time herself. Knowing she hit somebody and that person ended up losing their life over it,” Barnes said.

Tanner was originally from Utah, where most of her family still lives. She had been planning to move back home to be closer to her father.

When he learned she was critically hurt, he started driving to Toledo because flights were too expensive. He didn’t make it in time.

“We wish we could have her be with us, but unfortunately this accident happened and she was taken away from us,” Barnes said.

Judy’s family is now planning a celebration of her life back home in Utah.

Toledo police say the driver told officers she was distracted while making a left turn and did not see Tanner in the crosswalk. The crash report does not list any charges against the driver at this time.

A Toledo Police spokesperson said the department is working with the prosecutor’s office to review the facts and evidence to determine whether charges are appropriate in the case. The investigation is ongoing.

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