ELMHURST — Two children and a woman are in the hospital after being hit by a cement truck near a Queens school Wednesday, police said.
The Corona Transit Mix truck appeared to have made a right turn into a crosswalk, striking a boy, girl and the woman they were walking with around 2:30 p.m. on 55th Avenue and Junction Boulevard, according to police and witnesses.
The three were taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center, FDNY said. Their conditions were not not immediately clear although police said that one victim was possibly being treated for a severed leg.
Leonela Hernandez, 30, said she was walking with her kids when she heard the commotion and ran to the scene.
“I saw a lady just laying in the street, all I could see was puddles of blood. It was like the car just ran over her legs, everything just seemed to pop out,” Hernandez said. “Seeing her was very scary."
Allen Petre, 50, said he saw a man run up to the scene and pick up the boy.
"He was cuddling the child," Petre said.
Initially, the boy was put into an ambulance while the girl, who appeared about 5 years old, sat next to the woman, Hernandez said.
“She was in shock just staring at her,” Hernandez said. “She was holding on to her.”
Cement still turned in the truck as police investigated the scene. (DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg)
State Sen. Jose Peralta and Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland said in a joint statement that the accident shows a need for enhanced traffic safety measures, like more traffic cameras.
Peralta and Ferreras-Copeland noted the cement truck accident happened a week after the death of 17-year-old Ovidio Jaramillo in a hit-and-run in Jackson Heights on Dec. 8.
Earlier Wednesday they met with the Department of Transportation to discuss traffic safety measures at the intersection where Jaramillo was killed, further up on Junction Boulevard.
“Here we go again,” Peralta said.“It is further troubling that this collision took place within steps of a public school just around the time of dismissal. Enough is enough.”
"Swift action must be taken to keep our residents safe,” Ferreras-Copeland added.
Hernandez, who lives in The Bronx and was visiting family in Corona, said her sister complains often of the unsafe traffic conditions there.
“They need to have a safeguard over here,” Hernandez said. “It's always crazy, cars go in different directions. Parents are afraid to cross the street."
A shoe is seen near a tire of a cement truck that struck a woman and two kids on 55th Avenue off Junction Boulevard. (DNAinfo/Katie Honan)
George Michael Munoz, 21, said he sees cement trucks speeding around the neighborhood often.
“They’re known for reckless driving. They take these corners way too fast,” he said. “It looks like they’re about to tilt over.”
Corona Transit Mix was not aware of an accident involving one of its trucks and said that it had no comment.
