UWS street renamed Cooper Stock Way after 9-year-old boy fatally struck at intersection

UPPER WEST SIDE (WABC) -- There was an emotional tribute Wednesday to remember a 9-year-old boy who was killed by a taxi on the Upper West Side.

West 97th Street at West End Avenue was officially renamed Cooper Stock Way.

Stock was crossing West End with his father when cab driver Koffi Komlani fatally struck the boy in January of 2014.

The 53-year-old driver was cited for "failure to exercise due care," a traffic violation, after he told police he didn't see Cooper in the crosswalk

He served no jail time and paid a $500 fine, with his driver's license suspended for six months.

On Wednesday, family, friends and supporters turned out for the renaming at the spot where his memory lives on.

"What people need to understand when they look at this sign is that you were the innocent victim of a reckless driving epidemic," mom Dana Lerner said. "I miss you every second of every day."

Before the ceremony, dozens of Cooper's classmates at the nearby Calhoun School marched in his memory, and with the message that far too soon in life, they have learned about grief.

"He made me laugh all the time," one friend said. "We talked about going to college together."

The people who gathered said that the new sign is another painful reminder of the traffic dangers in New York City and that more needs to be done.

"The laws need to change more rigorously," Dana Lerner said. "And I think that the district attorneys need to hold drivers accountable."

Since the tragedy, the city has passed Cooper's Law, in which a TLC driver can have his license suspended or even revoked after an accident in which the victim is critically hurt or killed. The bill became part of the mayor's Vision Zero program. Still, the family was outraged by Komlani's punishment.

"This driver was not held accountable," Dana Lerner said. "He was given a traffic ticket and a fine for killing a person, which I don't understand."

Joining the somber crowd was the mother of Ariel Russo, the 4-year-old girl killed two years ago Thursday when she was struck by an unlicensed teen driver just a few blocks from where Cooper was killed. A street sign honors her as well.

"We're there for each other," Sofia Russo said. "We all know what it feels like to miss your child and to keep fighting for change in their name."