By Bill Parry
As she tried to join a Friday evening vigil for her one-year-old daughter, Fredrique Rowe, 24, collapsed in tears at the intersection of 94th Street and 23rd Avenue in East Elmhurst and was surrounded by fellow residents of The Landing, a shelter for homeless families. The night before, Rowe was pushing Skylar Perkins in a stroller across the bus intersection near LaGuardia Airport, when a white Dodge Ram pickup truck made a right turn off 94th Street and crushed the stroller.
The baby girl suffered severe trauma to the head and body. Officers from the 115th Precinct rushed both the mother and child, in the back of their vehicle, to Elmhurst Hospital Center where the child was pronounced dead, police say.
The driver of the pickup, Wallace Ramirez, 44, of Ashfield, Mass. remained at the scene. Ramirez was arrested and charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care, according to the NYPD.
Ramirez was arraigned Friday before Criminal Court Judge Pandi-Durant. Bail was set at $10,000 and the defendant was ordered to return to court March 31.
The crash scene is not far from where 8-month-old Navraj Raju was struck and killed in a stroller on Astoria Boulevard in October.
“This was horrific. I was heartbroken when I learned of this tragedy,” state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) said. “For the second time in the past five months, a baby in a stroller was killed after being struck by a vehicle. The accident took place in a very busy area, and it is my hope that the Department of Transportation conducts a study to see if there are additional measures that can be put into place to improve pedestrian safety in the area.”
The baby was the first fatality at the intersection in the last five years, but DOT statistics show 30 motor vehicle crashes, leading to six pedestrian injuries during that period.
“DOT will review the appropriate safety enhancements needed for this area, as we do following all traffic fatalities,” a DOT spokeswoman said.
City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland (D-East Elmhust) said the tragic incident is a reminder of the need for Vision Zero and re-engineering the streets, specifically for pedestrian safety. Paul Steely White, the executive director of Transportation Alternatives, went further.
“This horrific case should lead New York City to a moment of reckoning about the success of the Vision Zero initiative, even as we take pride in the fact that overall traffic fatalities are down,” he said. “It is time for all of us working for safer streets not only to recommit to the goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries, but also to reassess our approach. We must take a hard look at the question of whether the right of way enforcement we have worked so hard to advance will be enough to stop the appalling tragedies, if we don’t bring about a more fundamental transformation of our streets and intersections, which are unfortunately too often lethal by design.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeless Services sent mental health counselors to The Landing to support the residents and staff. Skylar’s mother and friends set up an online fund-raising page to help pay for the baby’s funeral which can be found at www.gofun
“My daughter was struck and killed by a car while we were on our way home,” Rowe writes. “I’m starting this campaign because I need the help of everyone right now to rest my daughter. Anything you can donate will be highly appreciated. Thank you.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
