An elderly woman was run over and killed by a cement truck while she was attempting to cross Willoughby Road in Crows Nest in Sydney on Thursday.
The 83-year-old woman identified as Gangotri Maharaj was reportedly holding hands with her husband, Vijay Maharaj, when she was hit by a passing truck at around 11 am, yesterday.
Ms Maharaj got trapped under the vehicle and succumbed to her “catastrophic” injuries.
While her husband who narrowly escaped from being hit was taken to the Royal North Shore hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
According to eyewitnesses, the pedestrian was “dragged on” by the heavy vehicle for about 50 m as her husband and some onlookers watched in horror as they tried to get the driver’s attention.
Gangotri Maharaj was run over and killed by a cement truck in Sydney on Thursday. Source: Facebook
They told Nine News that the driver seemed “unaware” that he had hit someone.
Mr Maharaj was heard shouting “my wife, my wife” over her body at the scene of the mishap, reported The Daily Telegraph.
In a statement issued later that day, the couple’s daughter, Gita Singh said the family was devastated by the tragedy.
“We are still in shock as my mother lies dead on the road and my dad is lying in the hospital asking if it was true. Devastated. Distraught,” Ms Singh was quoted as saying in the statement to Ten News.
The 35-year-old driver was also taken to the hospital for mandatory tests.
Officers from the Metropolitan Crash Investigation Unit attended the scene and are conducting a full investigation.
Speaking to the media at the scene, NSW Ambulance Inspector Carolyn Parish said the paramedics did everything to save the woman, but she died at the scene.
“The injuries were so catastrophic that the paramedics did everything they could to treat the patient, however, as a consequence (she) has died,” Inspector Parish told the reporters at the scene.
Ms Maharaj had only turned 83 last week, and the couple would have celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary over the weekend.
They had recently become Australian citizens and were reportedly in the area to cast their vote in the federal election at a pre-poll booth.
