An infant boy hit by a vehicle on a Rockland County street last week along with his two sisters and mother last week has died, according to police.
The 3-month-old infant was being pushed in a stroller by his mother on the side of Route 59 in Monsey when a 1999 Toyota Corolla plowed into them the afternoon of June 26. The woman's two other young daughters, ages 9 and 13, were also hit.
The baby went into cardiac arrest after the crash and was flown to Nyack Hospital. CPR was performed on him at the scene before he was flown away by helicopter, according to police and sources. He was later transferred to Westchester County Medical Center, where he died Wednesday morning, according to Town of Ramapo police.
Aron Wieder, a member of the Rockland County Legislature, told News 4 last week that he has been asking the state to do something about the lack of sidewalks in the area for years.
"As recently as a month ago, I'd written to the state, and I told them, there are no sidewalks, not on this side of the road, not on this side of the road," Wieder said, pointing to both sides of Route 59.
"This is a busy intersection; you have the mall over here, you have shopping centers, cleaners — and they have ignored us," he said.
The driver of the Toyota, 62-year-old Albert Gomez, was later arrested and charged with a number of crimes, including felony assault in the second degree. He was also charged with assault in the third degree, reckless endangerment and reckless driving.
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Gomez was not injured in the crash and was held on a $150,000 bail. It's unclear if he has an attorney who can comment on the charges.
It's not clear how the crash unfolded. Witness Joel Rabinowitz told News 4 that he was driving directly behind the Toyota, and that he believes road rage led to the crash.
Rabinowitz says the Toyota was cut off by a white vehicle, and that the driver of the Toyota then tried to pass the white vehicle along the berm, crashing into the family as they walked.
"The silver Corolla, the driver of the car, threw a cup out of the window, was driving pretty erratically," Rabinowitz said.
Rabinowitz says he did not see the actual crash, and his account has not been confirmed by police. Nevertheless, he was resolute, telling News 4: "This was definitely road rage."
