Sanitation Truck Driver Kills 19-Year-Old in Woodside
A 19-year-old pedestrian died late March 29 at Roosevelt Avenue and 62nd Street in Queens, where police told reporters a Royal Waste sanitation truck driver hit her while turning into the crosswalk.
What We Know
Official crash records record one pedestrian killed just before midnight on March 29 at Roosevelt Avenue and 62nd Street in Queens, with one dump truck traveling north and going straight ahead. Police told outlets the driver was a 38-year-old woman operating a Royal Waste Services private sanitation truck and said she fatally hit the 19-year-old as the victim crossed. Accounts differ on movement and position: press reports citing police described a turn into a crosswalk, while official crash records place the pedestrian away from an intersection. Reports said the driver remained at the scene, and police said no arrests had been made immediately afterward.
Official Crash Data
Collision ID
4888497
Date
March 29, 2026
Time
11:55 p.m.
Location
Roosevelt Ave & 62nd St, Queens
Borough
QUEENS
Fatalities
1
Pedestrians killed
1
Vehicles listed
Truck, Dump
A late-night crash as police described a turn
The city crash record says one 19-year-old female pedestrian was killed at 11:55 p.m. on March 29, 2026, at Roosevelt Avenue and 62nd Street in Queens; no other injuries were recorded.
Police told reporters that a woman driving a private garbage or sanitation truck operated by Royal Waste hit the teenager as she crossed at 62nd Street and Roosevelt Avenue. Several reports said the driver was turning at the time.
The official person record places the pedestrian outside an intersection, while multiple news reports citing police described her as being in a crosswalk.
Roosevelt Avenue has a long crash record
The crash happened at Roosevelt Avenue and 62nd Street in Woodside, Queens.
CrashCountNYC location data for Roosevelt Avenue in Queens recorded 1,834 crashes, 1,043 injuries, 58 serious injuries and 7 deaths from Jan. 1, 2022, through June 1, 2026.
Reports named a teenager close to home
Gothamist and the New York Post identified the victim as Nishath Jannath; the Daily News used the order Jannath Nishath. All reported that she was 19.
Gothamist reported that she lived on 55th Street, about a 10-minute walk from the crash scene. The Post reported that family members said she was walking home from work at a parking garage in Jamaica.
The Daily News later reported that relatives and friends said she had stopped to buy a birthday cake for a younger sister after a part-time shift and was a City College student. Family and friends gathered for her funeral at Baitul Jannah Masjid.
Records and reports differ on the truck driver's movement
The city vehicle record describes a 2025 Peterbilt truck/bus, categorized as a dump truck, with one licensed female driver. It records the driver as traveling north and going straight ahead, and lists the point of impact as the left front bumper.
News reports, citing police, described a private sanitation or garbage truck operated by Royal Waste Services. The Daily News said the driver was 38; the New York Post reported that the driver was traveling west on Roosevelt Avenue and making a right turn onto northbound 62nd Street.
The driver stayed, and police continued investigating
Police told outlets that the driver remained at the scene. Gothamist and the New York Post reported that she was treated for minor injuries.
Gothamist reported no immediate arrests, while the Daily News reported that the driver was not immediately charged. The Post reported that the NYPD Highway District Collision Investigation Squad investigation was ongoing.
The Post reported that Waste Connections, which owns Royal Waste, said the company was cooperating with the NYPD and offered condolences to the family and loved ones involved.