1 Dead, 4 Injured After Box Truck, Taxi Collide In East Harlem
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- One person is dead and four others injured after a box truck and a taxi collided in East Harlem.
The accident occurred at Park Avenue and East 102nd Street around 1 p.m. Monday.
The force of the collision propelled the box truck onto the sidewalk, where the vehicle struck Olga Rivera, 65, who was standing at the corner of the intersection with her husband, 1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon reported.
1 Dead, 4 Injured After Box Truck, Taxi Collide In East Harlem
"The husband was crying on top of her," witness Gene Perez said. "He said that when they saw the truck, he ran this way and the lady tried to run the opposite way."
"I could see the woman laying there -- elderly woman -- and her husband hugging her, crying," another witness, Edwin Pagan, told CBS 2's Alice Gainer. "And he was saying in Spanish basically lamenting the fact that it was her birthday today. He kept saying that over and over -- 'Oh, my God, it's her birthday' -- basically."
Rivera was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police told WCBS 880.
"She got pinched by ... that truck right there, that box truck," a woman who said she was the victim's sister-in-law told Gainer.
The taxi driver, two passengers -- a woman and child -- and the box truck driver were injured, Rincon reported. A parked van and motorcycle were also struck.
The cab was traveling west on 102nd Street when it went through an underpass and struck the truck, which was heading south on Park Avenue, Rincon reported.
Police are looking into whether the cab may have run a red light.
Both vehicles were still at the scene around 5 p.m. Monday as police continued to investigate. No arrest has been made.
Residents said sometimes it's difficult to see the stoplight as you come through the underpass.
"It's not the first time," one woman said. "This is really serious."
"There used to be a cleaners on the corner there, and cabs and cars used to always crash into the cleaners," said resident Calvin Adams.
"All the time, there's an accident here, and the reason is because that light is too high," resident Chris Suarez said. "So they go in, and whoever comes from Park Avenue is gonna get hit."
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