NYC families rally for safer streets

NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - Three children have been killed in traffic crashes in the last six weeks in Brooklyn.

One week ago, a driver drove through the red light at 9th Street and 5th Avenue in Park Slope and ran over Joshua Lew, 1, and Abigail Blumenstein, 4, as they crossed the street with their mothers.

A truck struck and killed Kevin Flores, 13, who was riding his bike in Bed-Stuy on January 26. Kevin's mother, Margarita Flores, was among the hundreds who gathered at a family rally to demand safer streets and tougher penalties for drivers who break the law.

The driver who killed Kevin was driving without a license and had previously had his license suspended nine times.

The car driven by Dorothy Bruns last week in Park Slope had received eight moving violations in the last two years. Bruns, who may have had a seizure, has yet to be charged.

In addition to harsher penalties for reckless drivers, the participants in the march and rally want dangerous streets redesigned. The group marched from Prospect Park to the site of last week's crash where they laid flowers.

Alison Collard de Beaufort put a teddy bear with the flowers. She has lost three classmates to reckless drivers in the span of 14 months. Now head of the Vision Zero Youth Council, she hopes the recent crashes will finally spark change.

Last week, several state lawmakers announced a number of bills they're pushing in Albany for safer traffic. The mayor has said he will introduce some proposals of his own soon. The advocates just hope the talk translates into action.