RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Tennessee mother is turning her grief into action, pushing for new legislation to ensure hit-and-run drivers who kill or seriously injure victims face tougher consequences.
Kim Webb has spent the past four years honoring her son's memory while fighting for justice. Her 19-year-old son, James Bardsley Jr., known as Jimmy to his loved ones, was riding his motorcycle home from work in September 2021 when he was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver at Rocky Fork Almaville Road and Morton Lane.
"He was just full of life, full of everything a boy at 19 should be," Webb said.
Jimmy died at the crash site, surrounded by strangers. It took Smyrna Police 29 hours to track down the suspect and the red truck involved in the collision.
The driver, Ruben Buenrostro Contreras abandoned the scene after the crash. He was later convicted on December 7, 2023, in a Rutherford County courtroom on charges of leaving the scene of an accident involving a death, tampering with evidence, and failure to yield resulting in death.
Contreras received a sentence that included five years for tampering with evidence. But less than a year later he was released under court-supervised parole. According on court records his sentence is set to conclude by August 2026.
For Webb, the outcome fell far short of justice.
"That was when we really realized there was a shortcoming, that there is no justice," Webb said.
Webb reports that Tennessee's existing laws lack enhanced penalties specifically for hit-and-run crashes resulting in death, with no mandatory minimum sentencing requirements. In response, she is spearheading the James Bardsley Life Protection Act, legislation named in her son's honor.
The proposed bill seeks to establish a separate criminal offense for fatal hit-and-run incidents, implement mandatory minimum sentences, strengthen penalties to deter drivers from fleeing crash scenes, and provide funding for public education campaigns about the legal and moral obligation to remain at accident scenes.
"I want to prevent that for as many of these mamas as I see on TV crying and hoping for justice. I want them to have it. I can't but I want them to," Webb said.
Webb continues to care for her son's memorial, cleaning it regularly as part of keeping his memory alive.
"I want him to know he's still being taken care of," Webb said.
The fight for legislative change has given Webb and her family a sense of purpose amid their grief.
"We're fighting for this change that's giving us a purpose as well," Webb said.
Webb believes the current laws are inadequate and wants to spare other families the pain of watching perpetrators receive what she considers insufficient punishment.
"I don't want to be stuck feeling helpless. I don't want to be stuck in grief. I need to do something so that at least other families can feel like they've gotten some semblance of justice. It's not right the way the laws are written right now," Webb said.
Webb points to Florida as an example of effective legislation. In that state, fatal hit-and-runs carry a minimum four-year prison sentence, a policy change that she says has reduced such crashes by 13%.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Patsy.Monetesinos@Newschannel5.com
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