A Waimanalo man whose 1-year-old grandson was killed after being struck by a runaway car in Brooklyn this week said the driver “should not have been driving.”
William “Bill” Durston’s grandson Joshua Lew was one of two children killed Monday after a Volvo ran a red light and hit them and their mothers as they were crossing the street in the Park Slope neighborhood.
Durston’s daughter, Lauren Lew, and her friend, Tony Award-winning actress Ruthie Ann Miles, were walking home from Trinity Grace Church when the crash happened. Also killed was Miles’ 5-year-old daughter, Abigail.
New York police said the 44-year-old female driver apparently had a seizure that caused her to lose control of the vehicle. The car, but not necessarily the driver involved in the fatal incident, had been stopped more than 10 times for various traffic violations.
“The ticketing system in Brooklyn allows people with bad driving records to continue (driving),” Durston said in a telephone interview Friday from Brooklyn.
The Volvo had been caught on traffic-enforcement cameras violating speed limits near schools four times and running red lights on several other occasions in the past two years.
“If they had a different system, she wouldn’t be driving,” Durston said.
Lew, an ‘Iolani School graduate who was born and raised in Waimanalo, moved to Brooklyn from Chicago about two years ago when her husband, Charles Lew, was accepted into the residency program at Brooklyn Hospital Center. Joshua would have turned 2 in June, and his little brother, Samuel, is 7 months old.
Durston, who flew to New York to be with his daughter immediately after learning of the fatal crash, said his daughter is grief-stricken over her son’s death. “She’s extremely sad, but she has another boy she has to get strong for,” he said.
Members of Grace Trinity Church have been dropping off food for the family and consoling them in the tragedy’s aftermath.
Durston said the family is grateful for the outpouring of support. A GoFundMe account created for the Lews had raised more than $219,000 as of Friday.
The Lew family is making arrangements to travel to Seattle, where Charles Lew is from, for their son’s burial.
Lauren Lew and Miles were in a marked crosswalk at the intersection of 9th Street and 5th Avenue at the time of the crash. Joshua was in a baby stroller that was dragged more than 300 feet by the Volvo. Police said the sedan came to a stop after hitting an unoccupied parked vehicle. The victims were taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital where the two children were pronounced dead.
Lew was released from the hospital later that day. Miles, whose married name is Blumenstein, was in stable condition and is seven months’ pregnant.
A post on Miles’ Twitter account Thursday said she was out of the intensive care unit. “By all accounts it is a miracle our second child is unharmed. Please continue to pray for the Lew and the Blumenstein families as we process the unthinkable and lay our grief in the loving arms of Jesus. Joshua and Abigail are now resting in Heavenly peace and Joy.”
Miles won the 2015 Tony Award for best actress in a featured role in a musical for her performance as Lady Thiang in the revival of “The King and I” at Lincoln Center.
The Volvo driver, Dorothy Bruns of Staten Island, was transported to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn in stable condition. Her driver’s license has been revoked.
At a news conference following the horrific crash, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said the driver, who has a history of seizures, should not have been behind the wheel.
