More On The Tragic Death Of Sammy Cohen-Eckstein On PPW

The Metro has a good article on Sammy's death and the broader issue of street safety:

Local City Council member Stephen Levin said he had been in touch with the local precinct commander and had been told that there was no alcohol involved, and police believed the driver had not been speeding.

“But they’re doing a full investigation, as they should,” Levin added.

Cohen-Eckstein was just one of three children who has died in traffic accidents in the last three weeks.

On Sunday night, three-year-old Allison Liao was struck and killed while crossing a Queens intersection with her grandmother. Five-year-old Kiko Shao was hit by an Escalade in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Concilman Peter Vallone, the chair of the City Council’s public safety committee, held a hearing examining expected reforms to the NYPD’s collision investigations last week.

The NYPD recently changed the name of their Accident Investigation Squad to the Collision Investigation Squad, signaling a shift in approach.

“I’ve been saying for a long time, it’s impossible that the city has treated every one of these as accidents, virtually never bringing criminal charges,” Vallone said. “If these accidents keep happening, we need to look at whether or not the area is problematic.”

- See more at: http://www.metro.us/newyork/news/2013/10/09/boy-12-chasing-after-ball-struck-and-killed-by-van-near-prospect-park/#sthash.vGy6RM2V.dpuf

There are some great quotes in there from my fellow CB6 Transportation Committee member and Park Slope dad Doug Gordon, including this:

Gordon has a 4-year-old daughter and an 8-month-old son and said that as a parent of young children, reckless drivers are a huge source of anxiety.
. . . .
“The scariest thing I do everyday is walk my kids to school,” he added.

Sammy Cohen-Eckstein was an 8th grader at MS 51 and by all accounts I've heard from friends in the Slope, a beautiful kid.  A life tragically cut short.  Let's work together to make sure we have fewer such tragedies.  Transportation Alternatives has published a handy document for the next mayor that highlights the enforcement gap in traffic violations in NYC.  As a society, we need to take a new approach to making our streets safer for all users.