The family of the 6-year-old child who was tragically struck and killed by a truck while walking to school in East Harlem plan to file a $50 million lawsuit against the city and the absent crossing guard who wasn't there the morning of the incident. According to the Post, the family of Amar Diarrassouba, who was killed by the truck on Feb. 28th, also filed a suit in New Jersey against the trucking company, McLane Foodservice Distribution, and the driver, Robert Carroll Jr., for alleged negligence. The family also lashed out at Mayor Bloomberg for comments he made in the aftermath of the incident.
"Though we are all grieving for the loss of our young relative, I must take a moment to express our outrage at your colossal insensitivity and total lack of compassion," Lassina Diarrassouba, Amar's uncle, wrote the mayor on March 6th. "If you have nothing compassionate to say, it would be better to say nothing at all."
On March 5th, Bloomberg had responded to a question about the incident by answering more generally to parents about instructing their children to be careful when crossing the street: "We have signs. We try to educate our kids. And parents have a responsibility to talk to their kids and explain to them they have to look before they cross, not let very young ones go out without supervision."
The way it was initially written, Bloomberg's words seemed more specifically directed at the Diarrassouba family—Amar was walking with his 9-year-old brother Issouf when he was struck crossing First Avenue at East 117th Street. While Diarrassouba understands now that Bloomberg was “probably talking to all,” he told the Post he still thinks, “You have to choose the right time [to comment].”
In the family's "notice of claim" against the city, the NYPD and crossing guard Flavia Roman on behalf of Issouf, they say: “He could have been killed, witnessed his younger brother being struck and dragged by the truck and sustained traumatic and psychological, mental and emotional injuries.” Despite mom Mehichta Diarrassouba previously saying the family didn't blame Roman for her son's death, the suit argue that Roman “deserted her post, abandoning the children who were promised her protection.”
“She lied that she was on a bathroom break,” said Daniel Kim, the family’s lawyer. “It’s not a volunteer position. The city should have a better system in place.” Earlier this week, Manhattan BP Scott Stringer joined State Assemblyman Robert Rodriquez and Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito for a press conference outside of the boy's school to call upon the DOT to introduce more traffic-calming measures, as well as "zero tolerance" for big trucks on narrow, residential streets.
