Corona boy killed by garbage truck while walking with mom

Image via Google Maps.

By Jonathan Sperling

A 10-year-old boy was tragically struck and killed by a Department of Sanitation vehicle while walking with his mother near LeFrak City on Wednesday.

Srijan Panthi was walking on 57th Avenue near 97th Street just before 7 a.m. when the crash occurred, according to police. The DSNY vehicle was making a right turn onto 57th Street when he struck Panthi and his mother, running the two over with the passenger side front tire.

Panthi was rushed to NYC Health & Hospitals/Elmhurst where he was pronounced dead. His mother, 40, was also taken to the hospital in critical condition, but was expected to survive.

Panthi’s mother was about to drop the boy off at school when the crash occurred, The Daily News reported. The vehicle had just pulled out of a commercial driveway, the paper added.

The unidentified driver of the DSNY vehicle stayed at the scene following the incident and had not been arrested or charged with a crime as of press time Thursday. However, the driver was suspended from work on Tuesday, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

"We take this tragedy extremely seriously and the collision is currently under investigation," a DSNY spokesperson said in a statement.