We need answers

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The city's ranks of officaldom have been shockingly indifferent to the recent deaths of two young people in the northwest Bronx. Since Rylee Ramos, 8, was struck and killed by a car outside her school and Julia Packer, 22, was fatally hit by a 1 train, lives have been ruined — and the official response has been one big yawn.

Members of the NYPD’s transit bureau are investigating the latest tragedy, in which Ms. Packer died after finding herself on a walkway near the 1-line tracks above West 242nd Street. A train struck her after she apparently took a few paces down the path, which is supposed to be inaccessible to passengers.

Members of NYPD’s Transit Bureau are investigating the Yeshiva University student’s death. A police spokeswoman says officers are examining video from areas close to the scene of Ms. Packer’s death. But for now, they are deeming the incident “not suspicious.”

In other words, since no one is raising a fuss about the fact a train that thousands of New Yorkers ride every day has killed someone, policy makers can feel free to ignore the results of the investigation and potentially leave key questions about the tragedy unanswered. Elected officials are poorly prepared to demand change to MTA policy given how little they have been paying attention so far.

The contrast to last week’s deadly crash on the Metro-North line in Westchester is striking. That accident killed six and injured more than 12 others. It was the deadliest incident in Metro-North’s history. But are New Yorkers so jaded that only the most spectacular of accidents can sustain their attention? 

If we fail to learn anything from the supposedly small accidents, it will avail nothing to attempt change in the wake of the big ones.

The lack of response to Rylee’s death is equally troubling. As The Press has reported since she tragically died in October, parents of students at her school and nearby residents have struggled to implement measures to prevent another such tragedy from occurring again. 

The recent installation of speed bumps near the Luisa Pineiro Fuentes School of Science and Discovery (P.S. 307) marks a small amount of progress, but many key questions remain unanswered.

Exactly how did the driver manage to strike a large group of students and parents? How can justice be served for Rylee? And why doesn’t a single elected official seem to care about the girl whose community they purport to represent?

The time is now for our leaders to live up to the name. They can start to do so by demanding answers in both tragedies and taking steps to make sure similar incidents do not happen again.

Rylee Ramos, Julia Packer, Yeshiva University, Luis Pineiro Fuentes School of Science and Discovery (P.S. 307),

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