A shocking scene of chaos and carnage unfolded in East Harlem Tuesday morning when a speeding garbage truck plowed through parked cars — setting off a violent chain reaction that ended with a 60-year-old woman gruesomely crushed and dismembered under a collapsing scaffold.
The crash happened just before dawn at East 101st Street and First Avenue. Surveillance video shows the private waste truck — owned by New Jersey–based Classic Recycling — tearing down the slick street, smashing into several vehicles before slamming into an unattended white Kia Forte. The impact sent the car careening onto the sidewalk and directly into a line of scaffolding where the unsuspecting woman was walking.
Within seconds, the heavy metal structure buckled and came crashing down, pinning her beneath the wreckage. Witnesses say the scene was beyond horrifying.
“I saw them pull her out — her legs were gone, cut clean off,” said a nearby deli worker who knew the victim as a regular. “She was just walking by like she did every morning.”
Another witness said the truck was “flying,” shaking nearby buildings as it careened out of control. “He never even braked,” said driver Will Bivens, whose SUV was clipped before the truck slammed into the scaffold. “He hit us, dragged another car, and just kept going — it was like a war zone.”
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The 47-year-old truck driver and his 50-year-old passenger were hospitalized with minor injuries. The company claims the driver was under the speed limit and tested negative for drugs or alcohol — but witnesses aren’t buying it.
Wanda, a local doorwoman, was one of the last to see the victim alive. “Every morning she knocked on my glass and said good morning,” Wanda said, fighting tears. “She did it today too — and minutes later, she was gone.”
The mangled wreckage tore through roughly 80 feet of scaffolding in front of a NYCHA building that’s been under repair since 2023. Inspectors say the structure was legally permitted through 2026 — meaning it was meant to stay up for another year.
This isn’t the first deadly crash linked to Classic Recycling. One of its drivers was involved in a fatal pedestrian accident in Hell’s Kitchen back in 2019.
Now, East Harlem residents are outraged — demanding answers about how a supposed “routine” garbage route could turn into one of the most gruesome tragedies the neighborhood has ever seen.
Source: New York Post
So horrible! Lead life everyday as if it were your last.