Car in fatal New York crash dragged stroller over 300 feet, police say
CHARLES SYKES/INVISION/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ruthie Ann Miles accepted the award for best performance by an actress in a featured role in a musical, in June 2015, for “The King & I” at the 69th annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall, in New York. She and a friend were walking with their children in New York when they were struck by a car Monday.
Police are investigating a fatal New York crash where two young children of women with Hawaii ties were killed after a sedan plowed into them.
At about 12:40 p.m. Monday, police responded to a report of a crash involving multiple pedestrians at the intersection of Ninth Street and Fifth Avenue in Park Slope. According to a preliminary investigation, a 2016 Volvo operated by a 44-year-old New York woman was traveling westbound on Ninth Street when she failed to maintain control of the vehicle and ran a red light.
Police said the vehicle struck Tony Award-winning actress Ruthie Ann Blumenstein, 34, whose stage name is Ruthie Ann Miles, and her 4-year-old daughter, Abigail. The Volvo also struck Blumenstein’s friend, Lauren Lew, 33, and her 1-year-old son, Joshua.
All were in a marked crosswalk at the time of the collision.
Police said the vehicle continued on, dragging a baby stroller more than 300 feet. The sedan struck a parked, unoccupied vehicle before it came to a stop.
When officers arrived, they found Blumenstein, Lew and their children on the pavement with various injuries to their heads and bodies. Paramedics responded and transported them to the New York-Presbyterian Methodist Brooklyn Hospital where the two children were pronounced dead.
Blumenstein was reportedly hospitalized in critical condition Monday, but both she and Lew were listed in stable condition today.
While at the hospital, police discovered the Volvo also struck a fifth pedestrian, a 46-year-old man, who was listed in stable condition.
The Volvo driver, whom the New York Daily News identified as Dorothy Bruns, was transported to the NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn in stable condition.
Police said the driver had a “medical episode” at the time of the collision and crashed into several cars and was stopped by witnesses. Police declined to specify the medical condition. They said there was no indication that she tried to flee the scene as had been initially reported.
Police have made no arrests in the case as of this morning.
In 2015, Blumenstein won the Tony Award for best actress in a featured role in a musical in the revival of “The King and I” where she played “Lady Thiang.”
She graduated from Kaimuki High School and studied theatre at Southern Oregon University. She moved to New York City in 2005 to attend graduate school, according to her biography on her website.
On her Facebook page in February, Blumenstein indicated she was seven months pregnant.
The Daily News reported that Lew’s father, Hawaii resident William Durston, was flying to New York to be with his daughter.
Two GoFundMe accounts have been created to assist both Blumenstein and Lew. Those interested in making a donation may visit: https://www.gofundme.com/ruthie-ann-miles-fund and https://www.gofundme.com/lauren-amp-charles-lew.
