Upper East Side & Roosevelt Island

Crime & Mayhem

Transportation

Woman Fatally Hit by Garbage Truck on the Upper East Side, Police Say

March 16, 2016 8:01am | Updated March 16, 2016 8:01am
Jodi McGrath was struck by a private sanitation truck Tuesday morning at the reputedly dangerous intersection between East 92nd Street and 1 Ave.
View Full Caption
DNAInfo/Melanie Shi

YORKVILLE —  A woman was fatally hit by a garbage truck Tuesday morning about a block from her home on the Upper East Side, police said.

Jodi McGrath, 55, was crossing westbound over First Avenue at East 92nd Street, about 4:30 a.m. when the truck, operated by an unidentified private company, made a left turn onto the avenue and hit her, police said.

McGrath, who lived about a block away, was pronounced dead at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, police said.

The 58-year-old driver was not immediately arrested, police said.

Marlo Phillips, who owns a floral shop on East 92nd Street, said the intersection has been a concern, especially considering there are schools nearby including the East Side Middle School (M.S. 114) on East 91st Street.

“There’s definitely a bad traffic situation,” Phillips said. “There’s noone stationed here at 1st Avenue. It’s behind the times — I myself could get killed.”

And with the upcoming arrival of the Marine Transfer Station being built on East 91st Street, local activist group Pledge 2 Protect fears fatal accidents like this one will become more common.

"Yorkville is a very densely populated residential neighborhood — it is not industrial or commercial," the organization wrote on its Facebook page.

“If NYC brings garbage trucks in 24 hours a day, this kind of tragedy will become a common occurrence."

Advertisement