CHELSEA — A woman was killed by a dump truck that ran her over while making a right turn near the Javits Center in Chelsea Friday morning, police and witnesses said.
The 48-year-old woman, whose name was not immediately released, was crossing 11th Avenue at West 37th Street about 10 a.m. when the westbound truck made a turn from the street onto the avenue, an NYPD spokeswoman said.
The woman was looking north up 11th Avenue away from the truck and was likely in the 51-year-old driver's blind spot as he turned with the light, according to Brenda Katz who was in a cab directly behind it.
"His back wheel went over her," Katz said.
"We couldn't help her. There was no way to help her," she added.
"I heard a pop sound," said a Javits security officer, Kwame Kensah, who likened it to a box dropping on the ground.
Kensah ran out of the convention center to see the woman lying in the street.
"It is a nightmare. It's gruesome," Kensah said.
She was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. Police covered her body in a white sheet and a suitcase with wheels lay nearby.
The driver remained on the scene and was not immediately arrested, police said.
Many drivers crash trying to rush through the intersection, according to Joe Irizarry, a manager at a nearby parking lot.
"You see a lot of car accidents because people are trying to beat the light," Irizarry said.
Officials with RLS Transportation, which is listed on the side of the truck, did not immediately return a request for comment.
