Cabbie Who Hit, Killed Boy on Upper West Side Won't Lose License

The cabbie who hit and killed a 9-year-old boy crossing the street near his Upper West Side home last month will be able to keep picking up fares, according to the agency that oversees city taxis.

Cooper Stock and his 51-year-old father were crossing West End Avenue at West 97th Street Jan. 10 when they were hit by the taxi, which was turning onto the street. Cooper was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital; his father, Richard, had a leg injury. 

The driver walked away from the crash with a summons for failure to yield to a pedestrian after the NYPD ruled it an accident. The city Taxi and Limousine Commission docked the cabbie's license three points but said the circumstances weren't enough to revoke his license.

Cooper's mother, Dana Lerner, is upset about the TLC's decision. She said she was at the scene the day of the crash and described it as the "biggest nightmare that a person could ever have go through."

"I ran outside and I saw my husband screaming and I looked over, and there was my son," she said. 

Now, Cooper's family and friends are lobbying for tougher consequences for cab drivers involved in fatal accidents.

"We just want something good to come from this," said family friend Paige Bart.

Six days after Cooper's death, Mayor de Blasio vowed to crack down on pedestrian deaths in an initiative called "Vision Zero." The program aims to address traffic fatalities with a combination of safety cameras and stricter enforcement of traffic laws. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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