Mother Of Boy Fatally Hit By Cab Pushes For Tougher Laws Against Drivers

 NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – One mother is vowing to make sure her son did not die in vain and is fighting for tougher laws after he was killed by a cab driver.

Dana Lerner's grief is already so profound, she though nothing could make it any worse.

"I don't understand why this happened," she said.

But she says new heartbreaks come with every development in the legal case against the cab driver who struck and killed her 9-year-old son Cooper.

"He's being charged only with traffic violations," she said.

As CBS 2's Dave Carlin reported, the taxi driver, Koffi Komlani, was ticketed for "failure to yield" to a pedestrian.

Now, the Manhattan District Attorney elevated that to "failure to exercise due care," a conviction that carries a maximum 15 days in jail.

But Lerner says that's still just a slap on the wrist.

"There has to be a punishment that fits what happened," Lerner said. "He should never be allowed to drive again."

Komlani is due back in court on December 4.

He is home now, but not talking publicly about the tragedy that occurred on January 10.

His defense is that he never saw the boy, who was holding his father's hand in the crosswalk at 97th Street and West End Avenue.

The DA's office told Cooper's parents the way the law is now, the charges cannot be harsher.

"It's a loophole," Lerner said.

Lerner cites the "rule of two."

"What it means is that a driver has to be doing two things recklessly or negligent," she said.

Lerner says she is dedicating her life to pushing for more sidewalk and street changes to help protect pedestrians and drivers.

"I just have to help for New York City to have safer streets," she said.

"It definitely needed improvement and I'm glad they are doing something about it," Upper West Side resident Josh Binstock said.

The city will also enact "Cooper's Law," stripping cab drivers of their hack licenses if they kill or seriously injure pedestrian while failing to yield.

A judge has order Komlani's license suspended until after his case goes to trial.

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