Hit-And-Run Victim Identified as 80-Year-Old Grandmother

What to Know

• The woman killed when a city sanitation truck allegedly struck her in a hit-and-run in the Bronx early Tuesday morning has been identified[hhmc]

• Maria Cruz's family confirms to NBC 4 the 80-year-old grandmother is the victim of the fatal incident[hhmc]

• The worker driving the truck has been suspended by the sanitation department; No arrests have been made[hhmc]

The woman who was killed when a city sanitation truck allegedly struck her in a hit-and-run in the Bronx early Tuesday morning has been identified as an 80-year-old grandmother.

In an exclusive interview with News 4, Maria Cruzs family confirms that she was the victim of the hit-and-run that occurred around 6:30 a.m. at the intersection of 138th Street and Willis Avenue in the Mott Haven section.

According to family members, Cruz may have been an octogenarian but she was active and independent, leaving home early every morning to buy a newspaper, her family said, adding that was what she was doing when she was fatally hit Tuesday.

Her family also says Cruz was a stickler about crossing with the light and paying attention when walking — making Tuesdays incident especially shocking for them.

Woman Killed in Garbage Truck Hit and Run in Bronx

Police initially said that that early information showed the vehicle involved in the incident was silver in color, later confirming to News 4 that they were also looking into the possibility that a city sanitation truck was involved due to surveillance images.

By Tuesday afternoon, the NYPD determined that a 2007 NYC Sanitation sand spreader was traveling eastbound on East 138 Street and made a left turn on to northbound Willis Avenue, hitting the woman and fleeing the scene.

Surveillance video obtained by News 4 New York shows the truck turning left and running over the woman. The sand spreader continued to drive away, treating the roads — even appearing to spray the woman as it headed down Willis Avenue.

The worker driving the truck has been suspended by the sanitation department.

No arrests have been made, police say, adding that the investigation is ongoing.

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