NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The NYPD is investigating after a man was fatally struck by a tractor-trailer truck Monday evening in Harlem.
On April 19, at approximately 7:13 p.m, police responded to a 911 call of a motor vehicle collision involving a pedestrian struck on West 144 Street, mid-block, west of Frederick Douglass Boulevard.
Upon arrival, officers observed a 39-year-old man lying on the ground with head trauma.
EMS transported the victim to NYC Health & Hospitals/Harlem, where he was pronounced dead.
Further investigation by the NYPD Highway District's Collision Investigation Squad determined that a 2017 International Tractor Trailer truck, operated by a 48-year-old man, was backing up in an off-street, interior loading dock bay, west of Frederick Douglass Boulevard, on the north side of West 144 Street, when the vehicle struck the man who was in between the trailer truck and an adjacent parked stationary trailer.
The victim was struck as he tried to guide the tractor trailer truck into a supermarket garage, officials said.
He was known around the neighborhood for collecting bottles for cash and often directed trucks into the Super Foodtown loading area for tips, a store employee told the Daily News.
The operator of the truck was not injured and remained at the scene.
The investigation remains ongoing.