The pregnant Tony Award-winning actress whose 4-year-old daughter was killed in a tragic Park Slope crash was recovering at a hospital Tuesday, as the Broadway community expressed condolences to her and her family.
Ruth Ann Blumenstein, better known by her stage name, Ruthie Ann Miles, and 33-year-old Lauren Lew were walking with their children, 4-year-old Abigail and 1-year-old Josh, when a speeding driver struck them at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Ninth Street Monday afternoon, a police source said. A 46-year-old man, who was not identified, also was hit, police said.
The two children were pronounced dead at the hospital. Blumenstein, 34, Lew and the 46-year-old man were listed in stable condition, the source said.
“Ruthie is beloved by her many friends and colleagues in the Broadway and touring communities,” a GoFundMe page for Blumenstein and her family said. “She is always kind and always has a smile.”
Heartsick for Ruthie and her family. https://t.co/T7Ox6y4BeH
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) March 6, 2018
This is heart shattering. Please help if you can and if you can't please send love and hope and prayers their way. Ruthie, I am sending you all the love and light in my heart today sweet lady.
— Audra McDonald (@AudraEqualityMc) March 6, 2018
Ruthie Ann Miles Fund https://t.co/Spsy7MAsBP
@RuthieAnnMiles sending love to you and your family there are no words. Except you are loved.
— Kristin Chenoweth (@KChenoweth) March 6, 2018
Please help if you can. Ruthie is one of the most talented, down to earth, and loving people I know and my heart is so broken, I don’t know what to do. https://t.co/c0ZAjx1rpS
— George Salazar (@georgesalazar) March 6, 2018
The page had already raised more than $300,000 by Wednesday morning. Another campaign was raising money for the Lew family as well.
Broadway stars expressed condolences to Blumenstein, who is known for her award-winning role in the musical “The King and I.”
“Heartsick for Ruthie and her family,” “Hamilton’s” Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote.
“Ruthie, I am sending you all the love and light in my heart today sweet lady,” wrote actress and singer Audra McDonald.
The 44-year-old driver in Monday’s crash claimed to have had a medical episode and had not been charged as of Tuesday, police said.
