Park Slope Driver Had Cardiac Emergency Days Before Crash: Report

PARK SLOPE, NY — The driver in the Park Slope crash that killed two children and injured their mothers had a cardiac emergency three days earlier, the New York Daily News reported.

Emergency officials responded to Dorothy Bruns' Staten Island on March 2 for a cardiac condition, the paper reported. They also went to her apartment for similar calls on Dec. 22 and Nov. 19.

She suffered from multiple sclerosis and had a history of heart conditions and seizures, the News reported. In January, her health became so bad that she went out on medical leave from her job at ClearCaptions and didn't return until February.

Bruns was back at work on March 5 when she was stopped at the red-light at Fifth Avenue and Ninth Street, the News reported. She lost control of her 2016 Volvo S60, ran the light and slammed into five pedestrians crossing the street, police said.

The crash killed Joshua Lew, 1, and Abigail Blumenstein, 4, police said. Their mothers Lauren Lew and Ruthie Ann Blumenstein, a Tony-award winning actress who performs under the name Ruthie Ann Miles, were also hurt along with a 46-year-old man.

Bruns kept driving for more than 300-feet until she crossed into another lane of traffic and crashed into an unoccupied car, police said. A law enforcement source previously said that Bruns likely had a seizure before the crash.

Months before, Bruns also hit a 28-year-old woman crossing the street in Long Island City then fled, the News reported. Her Volvo had 12 violations issued to it in the past two years from speed cameras, including four for running red-lights and four for speeding in school zones, police said.

Officers previously said that it's impossible to tell who was behind the wheel at the time of the violations, but Mayor Bill de Blasio later announced a push for new laws to hold car owners responsible for them.

"You shouldn't be able to hide behind the fact that a car is registered to you but maybe someone else was driving," de Blasio previously said. "You have to take responsibility for your own vehicle."

Under the proposed law, repeat offenders caught by the cameras would get an increase in the amount fined for violations and eventually could lose their vehicle registration if they get six or more within two years.

Image: Leah Finnegan/Twitter, used with permission