A Manhattan widow says the city needs to reconsider a slow zone that the DOT rejected just two days before her husband was killed by a hit-and-run driver.
Antonio Ramirez, 40, was heading home from work last October when he was struck by a car on Audubon Avenue in Washington Heights.
“My husband was the sixth person hit by a car there. He died instantly,” said Maria Sanchez, 26. “I believe if the driver was going slower, my husband may have survived.”
Ramirez was the breadwinner for the family, which has forced Sanchez and her two children to give up their apartment and rent a bedroom in another apartment.
Their community had asked the DOT to designate the area as a “slow zone,” which would have reduced the speed limit and added speed bumps to the street. Unfortunately, it was not one of the 15 neighborhoods that the DOT selected.
A source at the time said those approved were in areas with low traffic volume, so that a speed reduction wouldn’t create congestion.
Mayor de Blasio promised 25 new slow zones as part of Vision Zero last month, but the neighborhoods have yet to be selected.
“It was a terrible mistake to reject safety measures along a street that’s seen so much tragedy caused by reckless driving,” said Sen. Adriano Espaillat, whose district includes Washington Heights. “The new administration has a chance to correct this injustice, and I’m glad they’re making safety a priority.”