Campaign on again following RV tragedy

After attending funeral services for Ibrihim Ahmed - the nine-year-old boy killed by his campaign RV - Mike Ricatto, a candidate for the Special Election to fill Senator Joseph Addabbo’s City Council seat, has resumed his campaign.
“We resumed the campaign after the child’s funeral in deference to the family,” said James McClelland, spokesperson for Ricatto.
On Tuesday, January 6, Ahmed, a fourth grader at P.S. 63, was on his way to his home on 79th Street when the vehicle, emblazoned with “Mike Ricatto Special Election 32nd City Council District,” hit him at Cross Bay Boulevard and Liberty Avenue. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
The driver, Alexander Aponte, 22, who had been employed by Ricatto for a number of years, said McClelland, is not charged in connection with the child’s death, but faces charges of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, an “unclassified misdemeanor,” according to a spokesperson for the district attorney.
Immediately following the incident, Ricatto suspended his campaign activities which included canceling a fundraiser scheduled for Thursday, January 8.
At the services for Ahmed, on Saturday, January 10, Ricatto spoke with the family.
“They received him with overwhelming graciousness,” said McClelland. “They understood it was just a tragic accident. They are very warm, religious people.”
McClelland told The Courier that there has been a “positive response on the street.” “The people in the 32nd Council District understand that this was just an accident.
“He [Ricatto] just wants to serve the people of the 32nd Council District,” continued McClelland. “And he feels he’s the best person for the job.”
In light of Ahmed’s death, Councilmember Eric Gioia renewed his call for the Department of Transportation (DOT) to conduct traffic studies for all of New York City’s 2,000 schools, and to release recommendations to improve pedestrian safety around the institutions.
“ . . . It’s clear that more needs to be done to protect the safety of our children, particularly as they go to and from school,” said Gioia in a statement. “We know where these kids are walking — and we need to be proactive in taking steps to ensure their safety. We need regular traffic studies around all schools, not just a select few, and on a regular timetable. No parent should have to think twice about whether the city has done all it can to keep kids safe as they walk to school. “According to the latest statistics available from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), the most dangerous time of day for school-aged children (5 to 17) was during the time most arrive or go to school (6 to 9 a.m.), and during dismissal (3 to 6 p.m.) from Monday to Friday. The New York State Department of Health’s Injury Prevention Bureau has found that the leading cause of hospitalization among 5 to 9 year old children is being struck as a pedestrian by a car. Children 5 to 19 are also among the most at risk age groups for bicycle related injury, noted Gioia.
To improve pedestrian safety around schools, and create safer routes for New York’s schoolchildren, Gioia outlined several traffic safety measures that should be implemented: