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PODCAST: The Horror of Losing a Child Sparks a Battle for Safer Driving

By Emily Frost | March 3, 2015 8:50am
 DNAinfo's Emily Frost spoke with Dana Lerner about her experiences lobbying for better street safety on behalf of her son, who passed away in January 2014. 
PODCAST: Dana Lerner
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UPPER WEST SIDE — After her son died, Dana Lerner wanted what any parent would want — for her "upbeat" 9-year-old son Cooper Stock not to be forgotten. 

After learning the cabdriver who hit and killed her son as he turned onto West End Avenue from West 97th Street would not be charged with any crime, despite failing to yield in the crosswalk, her shock turned into anger.

Lerner started to lobby for taxi drivers who break a traffic law and kill someone to face consequences and for more enforcement of those laws. 

And in turn, her entire perspective on her longtime neighborhood changed. The hill that was so hard to hike up while she was pregnant with Cooper became the one she now saw drivers speeding down.

The sound of a honking horn or the sight of a traffic backup still trigger traumatic memories and make her seize up with anxiety. 

But Lerner said she's not stopping her fight for safer streets.

DNAinfo's Emily Frost sat down with Lerner to talk about her struggle to have the driver who killed her son charged and her newest battle to make sure cabdrivers are better trained.
  

We want to hear your reactions. Should the driver who killed Cooper be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony? Are cab drivers sufficiently trained? Let us know in the comments below.

Did you miss last week's episode? Check it out here.