Family members, lawmakers demand stop light at Queens intersection where 7-year-old was killed
NEW YORK -- A Queens community is calling on the Department of Transportation to install a stop light at an intersection where a 7-year-old girl was killed earlier this month.
Passersby stopped and looked at the memorial Sunday for Dolma Naadhun, who was struck and killed by an SUV at Newtown Road and 45th Street on Feb. 17.
Her family and neighbors in Astoria, along with City Council members and state Sen. Michael Gianaris, are urging the city DOT to implement a stop light. They say Newtown Road is known to be a busy intersection, where pedestrians often have to dodge cars that apparently ignore stop signs.
READ MORE: Police: Child struck by driver, killed in Queens
The 7-year-old's father said he wants stop lights at every cross street here from 44th to 48th to prevent something like this from ever happening again.
"I don't want any other parents to suffer," Tsering Wangdu said. "It's very risky ... too much traffic there when you come in the evening and in the morning."
"If they just engage communities, the people who live here know where the problems are. And if they do it proactively instead of reactively, we could prevent things from happening before it's too late," Gianaris said.
"We will not accept no as an answer from the Department of Transportation. We need to have a traffic light right there because it's right next to a school. It's a very busy street and people are using that as a shortcut to LaGuardia Airport," Council member Julie Won said.
The DOT responded, saying, "DOT is improving crosswalk markings at this intersection ... this location has a low-crash history, with five injuries recorded since 2018 before this fatal crash."
The DOT also says it's investigating daylighting, meaning it wants to start banning cars from parking close to the intersection, to help improve visibility for drivers.
"This is not straight. Cars came from here and they don't have much visibility, so they don't really stop where they should stop," Astoria resident Maria Melo Viana said.
Melo Viana witnessed the crash that killed Naadum, but said she doesn't think traffic lights are the solution.
"Imagine how many stop lights the city will have to put in. The problem is education. Education of people who drive," she said.
The agency added that the driver of the car that struck the 7-year-old was not properly licensed, was operating with a learner's permit, and didn't have a licensed adult present in the car, as required by law.
The NYPD said the crash is still under investigation. Right now, those who want to see a stop light at this intersection just want 7-year-old Dolma to be remembered for helping save lives.