Granville County town hopes to be a model for holiday parade safety

STEM, N.C. (WTVD) -- This year marks three years since Raleigh experienced tragedy at its annual Christmas Parade.

Hailey Brooks, 11, was hit and killed by an out-of-control truck while marching with members of her dance studio. Since the tragedy, the Raleigh City Council approved enhanced regulations for parades, but Hailey's parents are calling for even stricter regulations.

Stem, a small Granville County town 31 miles north of Raleigh, has made significant safety improvements to its holiday parade in light of Hailey's death. Town officials said they want to be an example of how proactive measures can help save lives.

They are pushing for lawmakers to take up the "Shine Like Haily Parade Safety Act," with the town of Stem serving as proof of what these safety measures can do.

"The spirit of the law is common sense, is pretty easy to follow, but what it does is it gives people that don't have something safe an incentive not to come to the parade," said Lee Clayton, of the Stem Ruritan Club. "We need that as a law to try to curb that. If you don't have it as a law, then anything can happen."

There are several new guidelines that the town is implementing before and during the parade, which include no-cost safety inspections of all vehicles in the parade, emergency stop procedures for all parade participants, and requiring all drivers to be 25 years old or older.

The "Stem Holiday Extravaganza Parade' will feature themes around Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

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