HARTFORD, Conn. — With summer around the corner, ice cream trucks will start meandering neighborhoods. Now, the family behind a state law to protect kids wants to make it national.
Four years ago, 10-year-old Tristan Barhorst was hit and killed by a car in Cheshire after buying a frozen treat from an ice cream truck.
“In a moment, our fairy tale life ended. And we are living with a gaping hole that's irreparable,” Christi Carrano, mother of Tristan Barhorst, said. “No parent should have to hold their dying child in their arms.”
The Barhorst family helped create Tristan’s Law, which includes safety precautions for frozen dessert trucks operating in Connecticut, similar to the safety features seen on school buses.
“If this could happen to my son, it can happen to anyone,” Carrano said.
Tristan’s family and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) are hoping to pass a national version of that same state law to prevent another child from being hit and killed by a car in the process of buying a frozen treat from an ice cream truck.
“This kind of tragic accident is by no means unique or even rare,” Blumenthal said. “That's the reason that I have proposed federal legislation that would incentivize states to do what Connecticut did after Tristan’s death.”
A federal Tristan’s Law would take a small portion of funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The money would incentivize states to adopt safety measures similar to Connecticut and would also be used to student the extent of the problem nationwide.
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Bridgette Bjorlo is an anchor and reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at bbjorlo@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
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