“There are no good outcomes here,” said Mamaroneck Police Chief Sandra DiRuzza as her Village police department released its final report on the death of two pedestrians near Mamaroneck Elementary School June 20th.
Police say the driver of the mini school bus that killed Molly Donovan and her 6 year-old son, Mikey Volpe, was probably distracted by an approaching ambulance when he made a left turn onto Mamaroneck Ave. that morning.
Investigators determined that the two victims were part of a group of five who were waiting to cross Mamaroneck Avenue on their way to the last day of Kindergarten and other classes at Mamaroneck Ave. School when the “walk” signal was activated. For some reason, possibly because of the approaching lights and sirens on the ambulance, Molly and Mikey paused for 9 seconds after the walk signal was activated and only began to cross when the light had already started counting down under a flashing “Don’t Walk” signal. By that time, the minibus driven by Jones had a green light and began making the left turn from New Street onto Mamaroneck Avenue.
68 year-old driver Edward R. Jones of Mount Vernon told investigators he never saw Molly and Mikey as he crossed behind the first group of three pedestrians at somewhere between 4 and 7 mph. He says he did not “feel rushed” by the approaching ambulance but was aware of its approach. Lt. PJ Trujillo says the evidence, including video from the bus and a nearby business indicates a tragic confluence of events.
“We think he was preoccupied with the first group of pedestrians and followed them,” he said. Jones remained on the scene, spoke with investigators for roughly 5-and-a-half hours the day of the accident and has been “fully co-operative,” according to police. He was given sobriety tests which determined no impairment. Jones was issued three traffic summonses, two for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and one for using a cell phone while stopped at the traffic light.
Police say the family of the victims was notified Thursday and that Mikey’s father was unhappy that criminal charges hadn’t been filed, but Chief DiRuzza said the grandparents, Molly’s mother and father, accept the results. “We have to work within the confines of the law,” Chief DiDuzza said.
The accident has galvanized the Village of Mamaroneck and Westchester County, which owns the road, into enacting a series of safety upgrades on Mamaroneck Avenue including “traffic calming” curb cutouts and the implementation of EPP, or Exclusive Pedestrian Phase intersections where car traffic is stopped in all directions.
The first new EPP was installed Friday at the accident scene (New Street and Mamaroneck) as police were announcing their investigation results. Two intersections on Mamaroneck Ave already had EPP and the village has commissioned a study aimed at determining if the remainder of the Avenue intersections can be upgraded.
Police also said the Mamaroneck EMS ambulance that was approaching with lights and siren was flagged down at the scene to offer aid to the victims and a different ambulance was sent to the original call. Mikey Volpe was pronounced dead at the scene and Molly Donovan survived briefly and succumbed to her injuries at the hospital.
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