BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — On Monday afternoon, Edie Syta looked through photos of her mom, Stasia Syta.
"My mom was just a beautiful person inside and out," Syta said.
She said it's hard to believe it's been nearly one month without her.
"I really wish my mom was here with us, and this just isn't right, and you know, I miss her. I miss her a lot," she expressed.
Syta's 73-year-old mother died in her car on the 33 near the Best Street exit during the blizzard. Syta said her mom was full of life and always wore bright colors.
"My mom was already planning her 75th birthday," Syta said, "She basically said I want to laugh. I want to dance. I want to act foolish. I want to have a good time."
Syta said her mom went to buy fish for their traditional Polish Christmas Eve dinner, but on that Friday of the blizzard, her mom was on the phone with her mom praying for a miracle that she would make it back home. She never did.
"She said, 'I love you.' I said, 'mom, I love you too,' and she said, 'please pray for me,' and I said, 'I will pray for you,'" Syta explained.
Syta expressed how this tragic situation should have never happened.
"I feel like my mom was too young to go," she said.
Now, University District Council member Rasheed Wyatt wants to see change on Route 33 to prevent tragedies like this one. He is proposing a new way to keep people safe and off the roads if and when another major storm arrives. He wants the state to consider adding 'mechanical arms,' similar to the stop arms at the entrance of the skyway, to close down the 33 during severe winter weather.
"I'm hopeful that these arms again will save lives and help people to make the right decisions during those storms and help us keep people from just getting on there. Period," Wyatt said.
Wyatt said he would like to see these put up sooner rather than later so the city is better prepared when another storm strikes.
"It's about saving lives," he said.
Wyatt said he now has to wait for the New York State Department of Transportation to move forward with this study to see if it is possible to implement the stop arms. Wyatt said he would prefer to see the stop arms at every exit of the 33.
As for Syta, she continues to hold onto the beautiful memories of her mom, and the sage advice she passed on to her and her brother.
"My mom was just always so adamant to tell my brother and me that you got to be kind to everyone," she said.
7 News' Kristen Mirand reached out to NYS DOT about the study and Wyatt's resolution but has yet to hear back.
