Families for Safe Streets Statement on the Death of 7-Year-Old Sama Ali in Bath Beach, Brooklyn

On Monday afternoon, 7-year-old Sama Ali was struck and killed by the driver of an armored truck while she rode her scooter at the intersection of Bay 23rd Street and Bath Avenue in Bath Beach, Brooklyn. Ali is at least the 182nd person killed in traffic violence, and the ninth child to die on New York City streets to date in 2020. The armored truck involved in the crash is owned by GardaWorld, whose trucks have been involved in at least 20 fatal crashes in the United States since 2008, most due to mechanical failure or driver error. 

Statement of Families for Safe Streets Co-Founder Amy Cohen: 

“Sama Ali, a seven-year-old, did not have to die while crossing the street with her scooter. This crash, like countless others across New York City, could have been prevented. My heart aches for Sama’s family. Like them, I buried a child because of a preventable crash, and demand accountability from the City for allowing traffic violence to continue unchecked and unabated.  

This part of Bath Beach has seen too many tragedies in recent years. In 2016, 56-year-old Alfiya Djuraeva was killed on Bath Avenue just one block away from Monday’s fatal crash by a driver who failed to yield as he made a left turn. In May of 2019, three-year-old Emur Shavkator was killed three blocks away by the driver of a turning van while he was riding a scooter just like Sama’s. 

I stood beside Emur’s heartbroken family with other Families for Safe Streets members who had also lost loved ones in traffic crashes, and we were promised changes would be made in this community to prioritize safe streets. How many more must die before our city fulfills that promise? 

New York City will never see an end to traffic violence if our leaders don’t learn from past crashes—and work tirelessly to prevent new ones. As long as they put the convenience of drivers over the lives of our children, families across the five boroughs will continue to suffer preventable tragedies like we have.

Mayor de Blasio controls our streets, and he must do everything in his power to expedite the path to eliminating traffic fatalities. This requires that he fully fund his signature Vision Zero program and implement the recommendations of his own Surface Transportation Advisory Council to avoid the growing number of deaths and injuries on our streets.”