Who in the Heck is Tilly Tooter?

Tilly Tooter. I was working as a reporter and photographer at the Lahontan Valley News http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/ when I glanced at the AP wire and saw her name. After Marlene and I cracked some corny jokes and shared a good laugh, I read her story. This was about five years ago, by the way. Tilly Tooter was an elderly black woman living in Florida. She was driving one day when a speeder ran her off a bridge. He never stopped to call for help and there were no witnesses http://www.local10.com/news/46649/detail.html . Tilly's car landed upside-down, suspended in the air by several trees. There she hung upside-down for three days over an alligator-infested swamp (she could see alligators below her), surviving off of a few Lifesavers candies and rainwater she caught and sucked from her sock (she was elderly, 83, let me remind you). She was found by a road construction worker who heard her calling out for help.

Tilly Tooter. I have read a lot of amazing stories. This one does not stand out in my mind because of her funny name, her survival skills, the fact that she was elderly or even had such incredible endurance. I remember this story today, because when Tilly went to court for the sentencing of the horrible man who knew he ran her off the road, yet did not stop or call for help, the judge asked Tilly what she thought the sentence should be. Tilly stood up in court and told the judge that all she wanted was an apology.