Driver Who Killed 2 Park Slope Kids May Have Had Seizure: Sources

PARK SLOPE, NY — The woman who plowed into five pedestrians crossing a Park Slope intersection, killing two children and injuring their mothers, likely had a seizure behind the wheel of her car, a law enforcement source said.

Dorothy Bruns, 44, lost control of her 2016 Volvo S60 on Monday and crashed into the pedestrians crossing Ninth Street and Fourth Avenue. The car kept moving before it slammed into an unoccupied car, according to police and reports.

The crash killed Joshua Lew, 1, and Abigail Blumenstein, 4, both of Park Slope, who were crossing the intersection with their mothers, police said. Tony award-winning actress Ruthie Ann Blumenstein, whose stage name is Ruthie Ann Miles, and her friend Lauren Lew were injured along with a 46-year-old man, according to police and GoFundMe pages for the victims.

Blumenstein, who's pregnant, was in stable condition Tuesday and her unborn child survived the crash, according to Methodist Hospital and her GoFundMe page, which raised more than $200,000.

Bruns was taken to NYU Langone Hospital in stable condition and had not been charged with any crime as of Tuesday afternoon.

"This very tragic incident is under active investigation and we are looking into all aspects of this case," a spokesman for Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.

Security footage posted by the Brooklyn Paper shows Bruns stop at the red light of the intersection then suddenly speed up and crash into the children.

Bruns' license plate was tied to 12 traffic violations in the past two years, including four for running a red light and four for speeding in a school zone, Councilman Brad Lander posted on Facebook.

"Her license should have been suspended long ago," Lander wrote. "Hard to square the story of a seizure with this driving record, which shows depraved indifference to the lives & safety of others."

The majority of the infractions listed for Bruns' plate were issued by automated traffic cameras and it's unclear if she was behind the wheel for them, the source said. Her personal driving record is clear, according to the source.

The intersection has been a problem spot in the community for years, with several pedestrians injured and one killed previously, and residents rallied in front Mayor Bill de Blasio's Park Slope gym after the tragic crash to call for safety improvements to the spot.

"These few blocks have been a massive source of injuries," said resident Marcus Pingel, whose wife and daughter were also injured while crossing the street three years ago. "It's so often that we have people almost being hit."

A 41-year-old man was killed by a hit-and-run driver while trying to cross the intersection in February 2016, DNAinfo reported. In December of that year, a car jumped the curb at the intersection, struck a pedestrian then crashed into a storefront, according to DNAinfo. The incident left four people with injuries.

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