Tragic Crash in East Harlem Was Preventable

Statement of Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Danny Harris in response to an East Harlem crash in which the driver of a Ford F-250 pickup truck killed three-year-old Bertin DeJesus who was riding in a stroller:

“On behalf of Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets, we send our heartfelt condolences to the family of Bertin DeJesus, the three-year-old killed in his stroller by the driver of a Ford F-250 pickup truck. Bertin is the sixth child pedestrian to be killed on New York City streets in 2019 and represents the 203rd traffic fatality this year, matching the total killed in all of 2018.

This crash follows a troubling weekend of carnage on New York City’s streets: on Saturday, the driver of an armored vehicle struck and ran over an 85-year-old woman in Columbus Circle; also on Saturday, a driver who ran a red light injured seven people, at least three of whom were pedestrians, at 23rd Street and Park Avenue; and on Sunday, an allegedly impaired off-duty NYPD officer killed one person and seriously injured another on Foster Avenue in Flatbush.

Bertin’s death was a preventable tragedy. We demand that Mayor de Blasio will recognize the growing emergency on his streets, visit the scene of the crash, stand with Bertin’s family, and do whatever it takes to prevent another crash like this. In moments of crisis, we don’t need hopes and prayers; we need immediate action to ensure that all New Yorkers have safe, equitable and dignified transportation alternatives.”