Brooklyn lawmaker calls for traffic study after 11-year-old girl fatally struck by school bus in Bath Beach
Assemblymember William Colton, who represents the area, said the corridor has a long history of dangerous crashes, several of them fatal.
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A Brooklyn assemblymember is calling for a new traffic study along Bath Avenue after an 11-year-old girl was struck and killed by a school bus earlier this week.
Surveillance video shows the moment Amira Aminova ran across the street as a school bus turned the corner, hitting her. The driver told police he did not see the child.
Assemblymember William Colton, who represents the area, said the corridor has a long history of dangerous crashes, several of them fatal.
“In 2019, a 3-year-old child was killed one block away from Bath Avenue on Benson Avenue,” Colton said. “We’ve got to stop this heart‑wrenching destruction of our children. It just can’t continue.”
Residents and business owners say they don’t need a formal study to know drivers regularly speed down Bath Avenue and make fast, blind turns.
Valerie Ocampo, a parent who lives nearby, said she constantly worries for her four daughters.
“Cars don’t respect the limit, not even school buses,” she said. “They see a stop sign, they don’t stop. It’s dangerous.”
Colton is urging the city to stagger traffic lights along the avenue, so they don’t all turn green at once - a change he believes would slow drivers and reduce the risk of children being hit as they cross the street.
"I'm not an expert, but we need them to take another look, like they did on Avenue T in Gravesend, and we don't have these issues there," he said.
Residents say they support the idea.
“You need it for the kids’ safety,” said Beni, a local business owner. “All the churches, the mosques nearby — everybody’s safety.”
In a statement, the Department of Transportation said it is evaluating the site, as it does after every fatal crash, and is considering Colton’s request.
