A near-fatal scare for a Cliffside Park family has turned into a push for safety improvements after their dog was struck by a car while they were legally crossing the street.

Footage from the crosswalk at Lawton and Anderson avenues shows Ruslan Leyderman, his daughter and their dog Benji walking across the road as two cars speed past them. Moments later, a third car enters the crosswalk and hits Benji.

“I was paying attention. But I didn’t go in front of her. I stopped right before her. Unfortunately, my dog was right in front, and he got hit. In my head, because I didn’t see what happened, I didn’t know what was going on. I’m yelling, you killed my dog, you killed my dog.”

What could have been a tragedy turned into a miracle. Benji survived without a scratch. He appeared happy and healthy when the family spoke with News 12. They say the driver apologized, and a good Samaritan rushed to help.

But Leyderman’s wife, Iryna, says this is not the first scary moment for families crossing the intersection.

“My daughter is traumatized, every time my husband takes dog to walk, she asks ‘poppa, what if the car is gonna hit the dog again?’”

After the incident, the family contacted the city and police. They say they were told pedestrian-activated blinking lights will be installed to improve visibility and slow drivers down.

News 12 reached out to both the Borough of Cliffside Park and the police department but did not hear back.

“Maybe some people will see it and stop; our main purpose for all this is to help, so it doesn’t happen to anyone else,” said Iryna.