Woman Struck by Motorist Was Vocal Disability Advocate

The disabled Fort Lee woman seriously injured when she was hit by a car Monday was an ardent advocate for better pedestrian accessibility, often petitioning officials to make borough streets and sidewalks safer.

Barbara Lebow, a self-described “squeaky wheel,” was profiled by Fort Lee Patch in August 2011 after a run-in with police on Lemoine Avenue.

Lebow was stopped by cops, but not ticketed, for riding her motorized scooter against traffic. Lebow said she was unaware of the specifics of the law in a 2011 interview, but had hoped that riding against traffic would make her easier for oncoming traffic to spot.

Similarly, Fort Lee Police said Lebow was riding against traffic in a driveway exiting an A&P parking lot when she was struck and pinned under a car Monday.

Lebow, who uses a motorized scooter because of a debilitating combination of lymphedema and arthritis, was seriously injured in the accident and transported to Hackensack University Medical Center.

“My goal is to make it easier for everybody,” Lebow told Patch in 2011. “That’s my agenda. I would like to see corner-appropriate corner cutouts that aren’t going to put anyone in danger and get them off the sidewalk.”