Running Group Leader Killed at Crosswalk Was ‘Stupid Proud’ of Her Crew – runnersworld.com

At the start of their regular 5 a.m. Tuesday/Thursday group run in chilly December, the Running Wild crew began their usual trek across Augusta Highway near Lexington High School. Some ran ahead after the light turned red, but others paused to pick the perfect playlist song before moving forward.

Group leader Dianne Wells, 36, began jogging through the crosswalk as the countdown clock ticked down the seconds.

A delivery truck driver, who often drove the route Tuesday and Thursday mornings, was coming up at the intersection like he usually did. However, on December 18, he ran the red light, hitting Wells without slowing down or honking. Surveillance cameras from the local high school taped the women screaming as the tragedy unfolded.

Wells died at the scene.

The driver later told police that he thought the light was green, and that he didn’t see her crossing the street, even though she was wearing reflective clothing and lights. He was ticketed for running a red light—a four-point offense and $237 fine—but not for hitting Wells. In January, the South Carolina Highway Patrol’s Multi-Disciplinary Accident Investigation Team listed both the driver and Wells at fault, saying she “didn’t have the right of way when she entered the crosswalk,” since the countdown clock was on.

Now, her husband and a local attorney who is managing the family’s estate are fighting back with a wrongful death lawsuit, not only to support the family and hold the truck driver’s company accountable for the accident, but also to raise awareness nationwide about pedestrian safety.

Filed at the end of February, the lawsuit is still in the early stages, and could take months to move forward. Court documents say the driver “failed to keep a proper lookout” and “drove too fast for conditions.”

Courtesy Betsy Bridger

“Dianne’s life had impact, and our hope is that her death will have similar impact,” said Jason Reynolds, an attorney for the firm behind the filing, Samuels Law Firm in Columbia, South Carolina. The case has special meaning for Reynolds, who hails from a family of runners, and is a member of F3, a national network of free, peer-led workouts for men. Wells was a member of F3’s sister organization, Females in Action (FiA).

“If we can help Dianne’s family and save even one runner’s life, we have done our job,” he said, hoping that publicity about the case will build legal precedence for runners’ rights in intersections, as well as prompt running groups around the country to make safety plans around runs that involve crosswalks.

Remembering “Digits”

Wells first joined the FiA running group Sunrise Scramblers, which does 5 a.m. Tuesday/Thursday group runs at the Books-a-Million in Lexington. During her first meetup, she did what all new group members do: She introduced herself and gave an interesting fact about herself. The rest of the group then proposed a nickname for their newest member.

Wells talked about her career in the finance industry as a controller, and thus, her moniker was born: From then on in the group, she was affectionately known as “Digits.”

As the Sunrise Scramblers grew to more than 30 members, Wells and fellow runner Betsy Bridger—known as Iron Maiden for doing an Ironman triathlon in 2015—decided to break off and create a new, more manageably-sized group. They decided to lead it from Lexington High School, home of the Wildcats.

It was that mascot—and the fact that most group members were moms who were always “running in a million different directions,” Bridger said—that helped them come up with a name for their new group. Running Wild fit them perfectly.

Wells and Bridger led the group on early morning runs, where Wells soon became known for encouraging everyone, no matter where they were on their running journey.

“‘A mile is still a mile,’ she would say, and she made sure people celebrated their accomplishments,” Bridger said, calling Wells a “selfless encourager” who often worked behind the scenes to boost others.

Courtesy Betsy Bridger

In fact, she often gave group members cards and notes of encouragement when they traveled to run marathons or halfs together. Since the accident in December, women in the group have shared the notes among themselves to help keep her memory alive.

Several “Digitisms,” as the Running Wild women called them, were common: “I’m stupid proud of you,” “I love you big,” and “I love you more than nachos, and that’s a lot.”

Her energy, friendliness, and humor were apparent, even online. At their last big run together at Rock ’N’ Roll Savannah in November 2018, Bridger handed over her phone to Wells to have her take a photo of Bridger with her husband. When looking through them after, Bridger found the ones she was expecting—plus one surprise addition: a selfie that Wells took when acting as the photographer.

Bridger posted them on Facebook, and in true Digits style, Wells responded, “For the record, if you ever hand me your phone to take a pic, you’re gonna get one of these gems.”

Balancing Running and Family

A dedicated runner, 36-year-old Wells timed pounding the pavement around her already packed schedule as an accountant and a mom to three young kids.

“When she came up with a goal to run, like a marathon, she would do it, even though she worked long hours during the week and was a great wife and mother,” said Camille Bell, 37, known in the FiA group as Whiskers, who met Wells years ago when their sons were in daycare together.

During a Labor Day beach vacation in Georgetown, South Carolina, for instance, Wells woke up early on Sunday morning to run 20 miles, Bell said. “We always wondered how she managed to keep it all together and keep training.”

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Even when it was raining outside, she’d clock 18 miles on the treadmill.

“If she only had 45 minutes to get a run in while her kids were at dance class, she would. That was the type of motivation she had,” said Ashley Studebaker, 37, known as Rum Runner. Studebaker, Bell, and Wells were the trio of best friends who would sign up for races together.

But as much as Wells supported and sacrificed for others, they gave it back to her, too—especially her family. After returning home from every long run, Wells would find a hot bath ready for her, with salts and essential oils, along with hot coffee in her favorite mug waiting for her, courtesy of her husband.

Courtesy Betsy Bridger

Joey and their kids—Maya, Eli and Emma—would always travel with her to races for encouragement and support, and before each run, they’d write “Go Mommy” and “You can do it” on her arms in marker so she could look down during the tough miles and keep going. When Maya began running at school and did her first 5K, they wrote on her arms, too.

“They were always there, holding signs and coming up with fun jokes or sayings to support her,” Bell said.

Moving Forward

After the accident occurred in December, the Running Wild women decided to remember Digits by building a Christmas tree out of old running shoes. With donations from FiA groups across the country, they’ve been able to give 1,500 shoes to Soles 4 Souls, a nonprofit in Nashville, Tennessee, that provides new and gently-worn shoes to those in need.

Other donations poured in as well—Department of Transportation yellow safety vests and Noxgear visibility vests with fiber optic cables that shine bright. More than $55,000 has been donated on the GiveSendGo.com memorial page.

Then, February rolled around, and with it, came a running dilemma: Wells had already signed up five of the Running Wild women—including Studebaker, Bell and Bridger—to run the six-person Dam to Dam 100K Relay in South Carolina with her. They decided to go on as planned and run the race. During the last mile, they blasted Britney Spears songs, which was one of her pump-up favorites, and crossed the line together.

“We all finished together for her,” Studebaker said. “Through her running, she touched so many people in so many different ways.”

Moving forward hasn’t been easy, though. Witnessing the accident and having their leader taken away from them so suddenly has changed the Running Wild women. The group has faced ups and downs as they’ve rerouted runs to avoid big intersections and become comfortable with running near the road again.

“Our sense of security had been shaken,” said Bridger, who moved to Georgia last month. With her departure, the Running Wild group is transitioning to two new leaders who are taking the helm and finding new routes for the women to run.

Importantly, though, they keep running. “It’ll take some time, but we found some new options to work around the routes that made some of the runners uncomfortable,” Bridger said.

As spring peeks around the corner, the first spring training season without Wells is coming up soon, as is the first summer without her on vacation runs or simply hanging out together at cookouts. For the Running Wild group, it feels like a void without silly text messages, surprise flowers waiting on the front porch, or an encouraging word to push through a tough run.

Events are still categorized as “before Dianne died” and “after Dianne died,” Studebaker said. But they’re still pushing forward.

“She always told her children, ‘Be the good you want to see in the world,’ and that’s what we’re trying to channel and remember, both as a runner and as a friend,” Bell said.

A few weeks before the accident, Bridger remembers giving a devotion to the group about “Being the Buffalo.” During a thunderstorm, she explained, cows tend to scatter and run, and buffalo tend to come together and face it as a herd. She encouraged the group to support each other during the storms of life with faith, strength and courage.

When they lost Digits, the group put out the call to surround each other and head into the storm. They created a shirt that’s now on sale at FiA.Mudgear.com, and the proceeds are going into a college fund for Wells’s three children.

“Be the Buffalo,” the shirt says. “Running Wild for Digits.”