New York driver charged in death of actress' toddler kills herself

The Associated Press
Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018 5:09 p.m. | Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018 5:09 p.m.

On the afternoon of March 5, Dorothy Bruns allegedly crashed her car into pedestrians in a crosswalk, killing 4-year-old Abigail Blumenstein and 1-year-old Joshua Lew and injuring three others.

NEW YORK — Authorities say a woman who lost control of her car and fatally struck the child of a Tony Award-winning Broadway actress and another toddler in a Brooklyn crosswalk has died of an apparent suicide.

Forty-four-year-old Dorothy Bruns was found dead Tuesday in her Staten Island home. Authorities say pills and a note were found nearby.

Bruns faced 15 years in jail as a result of being charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment and assault following the accident in March.

Authorities say Bruns had a seizure while stopped at a red light. Her car drove forward, killing Ruthie Ann Blumenstein’s 4-year-old daughter and the 1-year-old son of another parent. Blumenstein later lost her unborn child.

Prosecutors say doctors had told Bruns not to drive after she had a previous medical episode.

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