Transportation Alternatives & Families For Safe Streets Response to Child Killed in Brooklyn Hit and Run Crash

Second Child Killed in Less Than Two Months, Crash Occurred Just One Block From Fatal 2016 Crash 

Eighth Fatal Hit And Run This Year, As the NYPD Hit-And-Run Arrest Rate Declines

BROOKLYN - Today, Wednesday morning, a school bus driver killed an eight-year-old child walking on South Fifth Street near Hooper Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and drove away from the scene. This is the second child killed in a traffic crash in 2021. A total of 15 pedestrians and cyclists have been killed so far this year. This is the eighth hit-and-run fatality of 2021. 

In recent years, hit-and-run crashes resulted in arrest by the NYPD in only one percent of cases. According to NYPD statistics, the rate at which the NYPD is solving these crimes has been declining, with arrests made in only 0.89 percent of hit-and-run crashes in 2020. (As a point of comparison, the LAPD is solving around eight times as many hit-and-run cases.) In New York City, hit-and-runs are increasing from 36,000 in 2013 to an average of 45,000 over the last three years. Today, the City Council heard testimony on a bill that would expand crash investigation and move oversight of the process from the purview of the NYPD to the Department of Transportation -- a bill supported by Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets. 

 Statement from Danny Harris, Transportation Alternatives Executive Director:

“On behalf of Transportation Alternatives, we send our sincerest condolences to the families and communities devastated by this tragic crash and heartbreaking loss of an eight-year-old child.”

 “Less than two months into 2021 and two children have been killed on New York City’s unsafe streets. Eight New Yorkers are dead in fatal hit-and-run crashes in total. Traffic fatalities rose last year for the second year in a row, and this deadly trend seems to be getting worse as Mayor de Blasio enters his final year in office.”

“At a City Council hearing today, a representative from NYC DOT said that not every traffic fatality can be prevented with street redesigns. The DOT’s own data proves this statement untrue. There is a wealth of evidence that traffic calming measures, like protected bike lanes and leading pedestrian intervals, prevent crashes, injuries, and fatalities. People die in traffic crashes not because of the limits of traffic engineering, but due to a lack of political will to prioritize human life over inanimate vehicles. 

“Every New Yorker lost to traffic violence is a tragedy. And, the growing number of hit-and-runs suggests that our mayor is losing control over his streets to reckless drivers. This is compounded by the NYPD’s abysmal record of solving these crimes, making arrests in less than one percent of fatal hit-and-runs. The status quo is not working. Unless Mayor de Blasio takes immediate action to save lives and save his Vision Zero legacy, more people, including children, will die. Moreover, Transportation Alternatives urges the New York City Council to shift oversight of crash investigation out of the purview of the NYPD and to NYC DOT.

Statement from Judy Kottick, Families for Safe Streets member (and mother of Ella Bandes):

“My heart aches for this child’s family. As I know all too well, burying a child is every parent’s worst nightmare. My daughter Ella was also killed by a poorly designed bus on a poorly designed street. Ella was a beautiful dancer and an artist, and was planning to pursue a career in clinical psychology. We are still lost without her.”

“Every New Yorker deserves safe passage on our streets, especially our children. But like so many crashes that kill, this was predictable and preventable

“It took me three years of pushing for change, and for two other people to die, for the intersection to be fixed. Since the intersection was redesigned, no one else has been killed there. And nothing has been done to mandate that the large buses on our streets adopt the proven, safer designs that improve visibility.”

“Families For Safe Streets demands action from Mayor Bill de Blasio. This crash is not an accident. How will he prevent the next one?”

“It is time to move more responsibility for crash investigations to NYC DOT. Mayor de Blasio also needs to ramp up efforts to ensure that streets and big vehicles are designed so drivers of buses and trucks on our roadways stop killing our children going to school and walking our streets.” 

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