Woman In Critical Condition After Being Struck By Sanitation Truck In Dyker Heights, Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A woman was taken to a hospital after being hit by a sanitation truck in Brooklyn on Tuesday morning.
The incident happened at around 9:30 a.m. in Dyker Heights.
Police said the truck was turning from 73rd Street onto 11th Avenue when it hit a 39-year-old woman who was crossing the street near the intersection, CBS2's Nick Caloway reported.
Initially, neighbors didn't know what was happening.
"I saw two trucks there, two sanitation trucks, and I think they were broken down because I saw another car maneuvering around. I had to maneuver around to park right here," the woman said. "And I just thought they were broken down, but I did see two feet underneath it."
Police and paramedics were called, and the driver did remain at the scene.
The woman was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was last reported to be in critical condition.
Kathy Marciano lives just steps away.
"I feel very bad for her. I feel bad for the driver of the vehicle too. He's very traumatized I'm sure," she said.
Neighbors say the intersection can be dangerous, and people regularly speed and run the stop sign.
"We haven't, thank God, had an issue with it. But there have been, very frequently, minor accidents right at the corner here," Marciano said.
Several traffic cameras have been installed in the area near the scene of that incident, but many neighbors say a lot of drivers just ignore them.
"It's disturbing. And it's sad, honestly. Drivers don't know how to drive nowadays and it's disturbing," neighbor Julia Gonzalez said.
The truck is property of the Department of Sanitation. It has two sections in the back, commonly used for picking up recycling.
Police spent hours at the scene and were canvassing the area for surveillance cameras, trying to figure out exactly why the woman was hit.
Department of Sanitation officials told CBS2 they are looking into what happened, adding all of their drivers are extensively trained and hold commercial driver's licenses.
The driver of the truck was also taken to the hospital, for observation.
CBS2's Nick Caloway contributed to this report.