A father of two was killed by a hit-and-run driver near an elementary school in Washington Heights on Friday — just two days after residents learned that the city Transportation Department rejected their call for speed bumps and a lower speed limit on the street.
Antonio Ramirez, 40, was walking home from the subway after his late-night shift at a downtown restaurant when a heartless driver in a dark-colored car fatally struck him about 4:40 a.m. on Audubon Avenue and 176th Street in Manhattan.
An organizer for the local nonprofit Families For Excellent Schools said the group had just received notice from the DOT on Wednesday that their request for traffic changes to improve street safety had been rejected.
“I’m outraged,” said the organizer, Mary Melendez, 34. “We’re not just asking to be asking — clearly, we need this to be a slow zone. It’s a major safety issue.”
State Sen. Espaillat, who had written the DOT in support of the group’s petition, also said he is extremely disappointed with the DOT’s rejection of the request, which included lowering the speed limit from 30 mph to 20 mph.
“This death clearly shows the urgent need for it,” he said. “The parents were engaged in it. The community really wanted it. The need is there.”
A DOT spokesman said the agency is fighting dangerous driving through red-light cameras and speed cameras near schools and that a record number of speed bumps were installed in the city this year. He said a slow zone with such changes was recently approved in nearby Hudson Heights.
Sources said the DOT received 74 applications for slow zones this year and accepted 15. A source said those approved were in areas with low traffic volume, so that a speed reduction wouldn’t create congestion.
Friday’s fatality created a haunting scene for several schools near the crash, including Kipp Star Elementary on 177th Street, where Melendez’s s second-grader attends.
Many young children and parents at the school had to walk past Ramirez’s body, which was wrapped in a white sheet. Some teachers left the building and tried to distract the students so they wouldn’t see it.
Frustrated mom Ayiesha Washington, 27, who has a son in kindergarten, said, “I’ve lived in this neighborhood for three years, and this is the millionth accident.”
Ramirez’s family said he was a devoted father of a 14-year-old girl and 9-year-old boy and loved to take them swimming every day in the summer. He had been married to his wife, Maria, for 17 years.
“He was a great role model. He was like a father to me,” said nephew Hector Francisco, 25. “He had a great relationship with his kids. It’s very hard for us.”
The victim’s friend, James McClitnon, 48, a mechanic from Washington Heights, said, “Every night, I see cars go up and down like Audubon like they’re on a race track.
“They’ve got to do something about it.”
Additional reporting by Kirstan Conley