Mayor Wishes Driver Who Killed Park Slope Kids Was Under Arrest

PARK SLOPE, NY — Mayor Bill de Blasio wishes the driver who slammed into five pedestrians crossing a Park Slope intersection — killing two children and injuring their mothers — was under arrest.

Dorothy Bruns, 44, likely had a seizure when she drove through a red-light on Monday and hit the pedestrians at Ninth Street and Fifth Avenue, according to police and a law enforcement source. The crash killed Joshua Lew, 1, and Abigail Blumenstein, 4, both of Park Slope, and left their mothers Ruthie Ann Blumenstein, who's pregnant, and Lauren Lew in the hospital.

"This should never have happened, she should never been allowed to be driving a car after what we know of these other violations," de Blasio said at an unrelated press conference on Wednesday, referencing several driving violations associated with Bruns car.

"I wish she was under arrest right now."

Bruns has been at NYU Langone Hospital since the crash and the NYPD suspended her license. She has not been charged as of Wednesday afternoon.

NYPD Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan said at the press conference that officers interviewed Bruns at the scene and in the hospital. Officers also got warrants for her blood work and cellphone records and have been looking through her prior medical records.

"At this particular time, our [Crime Scene Investigation] and also the Brooklyn DA's office is conducting a joint investigation into the matter," Chan said.

The 2016 Volvo S60 Bruns drove on Monday had 12 violations issued to it the past two year, including four for running a red light and four for speeding in a school zone, Chan said. Five of those violations came from Brooklyn, while the others were in Queens and Staten Island.

All of them were issued to her license plate and officials can't determine if she was behind the wheel at the time of them. Her personal driving record is clear, a law enforcement source said.

"The summons are going to the specific owner of the vehicle and not necessarily the operator of the vehicle," said Chan.

De Blasio plans to push changes to laws to provide more consequences for drivers involved in fatal crashes and give officers the ability to investigate license plates that garner a large amount of violations from cameras.

"People who get behind the wheel of the car need to understand they have a weapon in their hands," de Blasio said. "They have to take that responsibility very, very seriously and there’s too many people that don’t."

On Monday, Bruns was stopped at a red-light at the Park Slope intersection when she lost control of her Volvo, drove through the light and crashed into the pedestrians, police said. Bruns kept driving for more than 300-feet until she crossed into another lane of traffic and slammed into an unoccupied car.

The children were taken to Methodist Hospital after the crash where they were pronounced dead, police said. Blumenstein, a Tony-award winning actress who used the stage name Ruthie Ann Miles, and her friend Lew were also taken to the hospital for non life-threatening injuries, according to police and GoFundMe pages for the victims. A 46-year-old man was also taken to the hospital in stable condition.

The New York Post reported that Bruns had a history of seizures and heart attacks, suffers from multiple sclerosis and told officers she had no memory of the crash, which de Blasio said should've kept her off the road before the tragic crash.

"If, God forbid, you have some kind of impairment you shouldn’t be driving," said de Blasio. "Where’s the actual penalty? Where’s the actual consequence if you go ahead and drive anyway?"

The crash sparked protests in front of De Blasio's gym on Tuesday with residents calling for safety improvements for the dangerous intersection, where several pedestrians were injured and one killed in 2016.

Councilman Brad Lander announced he met with the city's Department of Transportation to push for measures like increased pedestrian islands and protected bike lanes to make the spot safer.

"We'll never know whether a redesign could have saved Abby and Josh from this deadly driving," Lander wrote on Facebook.

"But we know this intersection was the site of another fatal crash in 2016, and many more crashes and injuries. So we need to act now to prevent future tragedies."

Photos courtesy of GoFundMe.com. GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.