A 7-year-old girl died after she was fatally struck by an armored truck driver in Brooklyn on Monday afternoon—the ninth child to die in traffic crashes in 2020.
The girl, Sama Ali, was crossing Bay 23rd Street on a scooter when the driver struck and killed her, according to the NYPD.
The driver was heading south on Bay 23rd Street, fatally striking Ali at the intersection of Bath Avenue.
The seven-year-old from Bath Beach, Brooklyn died at Lutheran Hospital.
The driver, who remained at the scene of the crash, has not been arrested as of Tuesday morning, an NYPD spokesperson said.
The NYPD's Collision Investigation Squad is investigating the crash.
Video from the CitizenApp shows the armored truck was owned by GardaWorld, which as the subject of a Tampa Bay Times investigation that found 19 people had died in crashes with the company truck drivers since 2008. Twelve fatal crashes involved a mechanical failure or a mistake by the driver, according to the Florida newspaper.
The company told the Daily News an internal investigation is underway and it deployed its "accident response team."
"All of us at GardaWorld are deeply saddened by the news of this tragic accident. Our thoughts and prayers, and our deepest condolences go out to the family and loved ones of the decedent," the company said.
Safe streets advocates lamented the tragedy—emphasizing her death could have been prevented.
"This crash, like countless others across New York City, could have been prevented," Families for Safe Streets co-founder Amy Cohen said in a statement. "This part of Bath Beach has seen too many tragedies in recent years."
Cohen noted that 56-year-old Alfiya Djuraeva was killed one block away from Monday's crash on Bath Avenue in 2016, and in May 2019, toddler Emur Shavkator was struck and killed while on his scooter.
"New York City will never see an end to traffic violence if our leaders don’t learn from past crashes—and work tirelessly to prevent new ones," Cohen said. "As long as they put the convenience of drivers over the lives of our children, families across the five boroughs will continue to suffer preventable tragedies like we have."
In NYC through September 28th this year, 170 people have died in crashes, including 66 pedestrians, 18 cyclists, 38 motorcyclists, and 48 car occupants, according to the Department of Transportation's statistics. Pedestrian injuries and fatalities have increased since lockdown restrictions were eased, averaging more than 8 deaths per month in the last three months.
This time last year, 163 people had died as a result of motor vehicle collisions. Motorcyclist deaths have nearly doubled, from 21 this time last year to 38 this year.
Brooklyn Councilmember Justin Brannan called the girl's death "awful, horrible, tragic."
A spokesperson for Mayor Bill de Blasio, Mitch Schwartz, called the fatal crash a "horrifying tragedy," adding "we mourn together as a city with Sama's family."
During a press conference last week in response to a question about the death of Brooklyn cyclist Sarah Pitts, de Blasio said he's "committed" to Vision Zero and wants to "do everything I can in the next 15 months to deepen" the initiative, aimed eliminating traffic deaths through better street design.
