Ruthie Ann Blumenstein, the pregnant Brooklyn mother whose child was killed after being struck by a driver who ran a red light in Park Slope in March, has lost her unborn child, her family’s lawyer told the New York Daily News Wednesday.
Blumenstein and her husband, Jonathan, were expecting a daughter this month.
“At the time of the crash, Ruthie was pregnant and was severely injured. This past Friday, Ruthie and Jonathan lost their baby, Sophia Rosemary Wong Blumenstein,” Ben Rubinowitz told the Daily News. “The pain suffered by Ruthie and Jonathan is nearly impossible to fathom.”
Blumenstein, a Tony-winning Broadway actress whose stage name is Ruthie Ann Miles, was in the intersection of Ninth Street and Fifth Avenue in Park Slope with her friend Lauren Lew on March 5 when Dorothy Bruns ran the red light and struck the two women, their two small children and a male pedestrian.
Blumenstein’s 4-year-old daughter, Abigail, and Lew’s 1-year-old son, Joshua, were killed, and Blumenstein was seriously injured.
Bruns, 44, attempted to flee after the incident, dragging Joshua Lew’s stroller down Ninth Street until she crashed into several cars and was detained by witnesses.
The Staten Island resident told emergency responders after the crash that she had suffered a seizure, which caused her to accelerate through the red light. Evidence cited by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez earlier this month showed that Bruns suffered two other seizures immediately after the crash.
Gonzalez said Bruns was ordered not to drive for one year after she was hospitalized when she crashed into a parked car less than two months before the Park Slope incident.
Additionally, Bruns’ license plate had been cited 12 times in the past two years for traffic violations that included four instances of running red lights and four for speeding in school zones.
Bruns was charged earlier this month with second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment, third-degree assault and related charges. She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
According to state laws regarding homicide, Bruns will not face additional charges now that Blumenstein has lost her unborn daughter.
