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Girl Avoids Being Run Over by Hairsbreadth

A seven-year-old girl is lucky to be alive after she narrowly avoided being run over by a car while riding across the street on her scooter. The frightening incident occurred at about 4:30pm yesterday, Sunday, on the corner of Albany Ave. and Empire Blvd. in Crown Heights.

The girl was riding her scooter down Albany Ave. from Montgomery St. toward Empire Blvd., and sped right into the busy intersection on a red light.

A quick-acting driver just barely managed to swerve his car away from the girl to avoid running her over. Instead, she was swiped by the side of the vehicle, knocking her over and injuring her leg – but thankfully sparing her life.

Hatzalah was called to the scene by a bystander; they arrived within minutes and treated the girl, then transported her to Kings County Hospital for further treatment and checkup. Boruch Hashem she did not sustain any serious injuries and is expected to make a speedy recovery.

The Lessons Learned

A review of surveillance footage of the incident (see below) reveals a troubling phenomenon.

It appears that ahead of the girl, two people, an adult on a bicycle and an older child on a scooter,  crossed the street on the red light after determining that they could safely make it across between the moving traffic.

We speculate that the reason the younger girl continued onto the street – despite the red light – was because she saw those two people cross in front of her and assumed it was green without actually checking the light.

It is important for us to take note of this near-tragedy and reiterate that adults should never cross the street on a red light if there is a child within view.

At the very worst – the child might try to follow, assuming that it is a green light, which could result in tragedy, r”l. At the very least – the child will draw the conclusion that it is generally safe to cross the street on a red light, since adults do it all the time.

A good neighbor prioritizes the safety of the children of others with the same concern as his/her own child.

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31 Comments

  • WOW

    What a miracle! Ppl read the article carefully…CH.info you are so right!

  • That was scary to watch

    Much respect to the driver for his quick reaction. There is a slight incline there and drivers cannot see very far ahead. If the driver would have been dialing or texting, this story would C”V has a very different outcomes

  • Yossi

    “A quick-acting driver just barely managed to swerve his car ”
    The driver was a Woman

  • Parents please

    Please tell your kids to hold their scooter while crossing and not to ride across the street.

  • me

    i witnessed this accident as well. barely slept last night. THANK YOU HASHEM THAT SHES OK!

  • HELMET??

    WHERE IS HER HELMET? MOTHERS HOW CAN YOU LET YOUR CHILD RIDE ANYTHING WITHOUT A HELMET!!! EVERY OTHER DAY YOU HEAR A TRAGIC STORY, TAKE PRECAUTIONS WHEN YOU CAN AND MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD IS WEARING A HELMET! NO MATTER WHAT AGE!

    • !!!

      Well said. And quite honestly, why is a little kid allowed to ride a scooter down a major street, even on the sidewalk, without supervision?

  • agree with #6

    definitely something parents should be more on top of – wearing helmets while on a bike or scooter is a must – Hashem runs the world, but we must still be careful with safety!

  • Too young

    In my opinion 7 years old is way too young to be crossing a street, especially a busy street like Empire blvd!

  • Boruch Hashem

    This is practically a miracle. The family should make a Seudas Hodah and thank G-d for his kindness and mercy. There is no reason that incidents such as these should be any less inspiring to motivate us to do good than the tragedies the community has unfortunately experienced. Perhaps if we allow incidents like these to bring us together in unity to give thanks, we will never have to know of other things that force us together. Boruch Hashem!

  • Mother

    All day I kept thinking how kids are looking at me for direction.. When I cross on a red- they might too. Thanks for this helpful article

  • Dangerous segment of Albany Ave

    This part of Albany Ave. is very steep. Parents, don’t let kids ride bikes or scooters, skateboards, etc. on this stretch of Albany!! 15 years ago I was in a car accident just before that intersection when we were rear-ended by a car whose brakes failed. The bad whiplash and mild concussion I suffered still bother me to this day — B”H not seriously, but enough not to forget. Wishing everyone a safe and healthy summer.

  • 7 is way to young!!!!!

    i have a 7 year old, there is no way she is crossing streets by herself yet!!! and where is her helmet?? how many lessons do we need to learn from till we get the point that we ARE NOT ABOVE IT ALL????

  • Don't Cross on red

    Not a day goes by when I don’t have to explain to my kids “why that tatty or mommy crossed when the light was red”. Have some consideration for the kids. We are all busy and all in a rush, but do what is right when you see a child by the light, 20 seconds of your time can save a life (as the video shows)

  • concerned parent

    she was following the other girl .Parents tell your children to wait for the lights to change in their favor, and not to follow someone .

    • to #15

      She was following the other girl? That’s a reason?
      What if the light would have turned red right after the other girl crossed?
      You have to look at the light yourself.
      And no 7 year old should be crossing major streets by herself, especially if she doesn’t even know to check the traffic signals instead of the other pedestrians!
      Baruch Hashem she did not sustain any serious injuries, but she probably had the fright of her life!
      Parents, YOU are responsible for your child. Enough with the tragedies and near tragedies. LOOK AFTER your children, teach them street safety, and make sure each child on wheels of any kind wears a properly fitting helmet.
      May we all have a safe and healthy summer.

  • TorahYid

    Red light=Don’t do. Applies to everyone on every sort of moving decide, including bicycles, scooters, legs, etc.

  • EMPIRE AND ALBANY

    Pay attention my dear fellow Crown Heightsers, this is one of the most dangerous intersections in Crown Heights, i saw a REAL accident with a girl a few months ago on this intersection, the drivers cannot see ahead!! venishmartem meod lenafshoteichem on EMPIRE and ALBANY especially, thank G-d this girl is ok

  • "Excuse me, can you cross me?"

    “Never let a child under age 10 cross the street alone.”
    Noch with a scooter, without a helmet. With bad role models ahead of her. Tatteh zisseh in Himmel! Boy did this maideleh and her family have a nes.

  • Anon

    I am sorry to point this out but the message in this article is telling us one of the lessons from this but is missing the main lesson. A 7yr old girl is clearly too young to be crossing such a major junction without an adult or older sibling. As others have pointed out why is she not wearing a helmet? We have to do our best to keep our children safe and be an example to others.

  • CH resident

    I live on that block & I didn’t let my kids cross that street Until they were bas mitzvah. Cars are always running the red light. It is a very dangerous corner.

  • mother hen

    It is our duty as parents to teach our children to cross the street safely & not rely on others. People do all kinds of crazy things. We have to teach them to act independently!

  • What is going on here??!!

    WHY ARE PARENTS LETTING THEIR 7 YEAR OLDS CROSS A STREET ON THEIR OWN???

  • 7?

    A seven year old should not be walking around on her own. Plus there has to be a helmet. Kids shouldn’t be left alone crossing empire. This family should be thankful for the drivers quick thinking but some more responsibility on behalf of the parents would have avoided all of this.

  • What a NES!!!!

    It doesn’t matter if your child is 7 or not or shouldn’t be crossing himself…..the point is to ALWAYS look in BOTH directions & LOOK @ the light, not @ pple who are doing the WRONG thing which isn’t safe & to ALWAYS wear a HELMET! B”h she’s alright! Just freaked it when you see how she miraculously survived!!!! BUT, there was just last week a boy in London who lost balance from his bike & a car RAN OVER HIS HEAD & he ALSO survived B”H, BUT he was wearing a HELMET!!!!!!!

  • A Miracle She is Alive

    That video is terrifying to watch. Its a real miracle that she is alive with only minor injuries!

  • concerned

    On a recent visit I was astonished to see so many little children alone on the streets of CH – playing, walking, running, skating, biking, on scooters and in stores.

    In communities of all sizes, urban, suburban or rural no child under teenage should be alone without adult supervision. It takes only a seconds for an accident to happen or a predator to strike. For young teens, a group of 3 is resonably safe. Children should always carry ID with parental contact info and if applicable medical information.

  • Observers

    Kid on the bottom left continues to eat his ice cream after accident :19–:23 while guy at :19 panics and run away (no cell phone?) instead of running to help her.

  • dont teach kids to follow the lightss

    teaching kids to religiously follow the lights is in a way promoting the danger in a twofold way:

    1. the child will assume that the green/white light is always safe.

    2. When the child sees someone crossing the child will automatically assume the light is green because they assume that like themselves the person would never cross on a red.

    Children should be taught that they should never rely on lights or other drivers or pedestrians, They must stop at all intersections, look both ways, and check for themselves.