GRAMERCY — A woman riding a bicycle was killed after being run over by a garbage truck on East 23rd Street Friday afternoon, officials and witnesses said.
The incident occurred on the south side of East 23rd Street between Park and Madison avenues, just before 12:30 p.m., an FDNY spokesman and witnesses said.
The woman, who was not immediately identified, was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.
A witness said the woman had just pushed off from the curb on her bicycle when she was blindsided by the massive truck.
Another witness, Agim Qosaj, 18, was looking out the second-floor window of the building where he works when he saw the woman appear to fall off her bike and get slammed by the truck.
"People were screaming for him to stop," Qosaj said.
The garbage truck remained at the scene, next to the woman's mangled bicycle.
Street vendor Greg Lezama, 43, said he heard the impact of the accident and looked over to see people yelling at the truck to stop.
When he peered under the vehicle, he saw the bleeding woman pinned beneath the back tires.
"She was alive for 10 minutes. She was breathing," Lezama said. "I'm traumatized. I've never seen anything like this before."
It was not immediately clear if there was any criminality involved.
