I can guarantee you that is not the argument that anyone not voting for Harris because of Gaza was using.

I think it’s correct as-is. Inserting a “were” would make that clause read as independent. With how the sentence is currently structured, that doesn’t work.

That’s not to say you couldn’t have

The tracks are now unruley [sic] and wild—the people once tied to them were killed in crosswalks by giant trucks

if you want, but the comma needs to change to something like a dash or a semicolon. With a comma (i.e., as a subordinate clause), “were” doesn’t make sense.

Are crepes not a food?

In short? Medical debt. Emergency rooms will treat you, and in some cases might offer discounted rates for patients without insurance, but at the end of the day you are still responsible for the bill, however large it may be.