NEW YORK — Nearly nine weeks after 19-year-old Bangladeshi-American Nishat Jannat was tragically killed by a private sanitation truck in Woodside, Queens, the driver involved in the fatal collision was arrested by the New York Police Department on June 3.
According to investigators, at approximately midnight on March 29, Mayra Cruz, 39, of the Bronx, was driving a Royal Waste Services garbage truck and making a northbound turn onto 62nd Street from the eastbound lane of Roosevelt Avenue. At that moment, Nishat Jannat was crossing 62nd Street in the marked crosswalk on the north side of the intersection.
Police said the truck struck Nishat, trapping her beneath the vehicle. Officers from the NYPD’s 108th Precinct responded to the scene and found her unconscious under the truck’s right side. Emergency medical personnel pronounced her dead at the scene.
The moments leading up to the tragedy were especially heartbreaking. Nishat, a resident of 55th Street in Woodside, had just finished her shift as a receptionist at a parking garage on Parsons Boulevard in Jamaica and was on her way home. Earlier that night, she had stopped to purchase a birthday cake for her younger sister. Just half a mile from
home, while crossing at a damaged crosswalk, her life was cut short in the devastating collision.
Following the crash, the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad conducted an extensive investigation. On the morning of June 3, authorities arrested Cruz and processed her at the 111th Precinct in Bayside.
She has been charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care resulting in serious injury. Cruz was issued a Desk Appearance Ticket and is scheduled to appear in court on June 23.
Nishat’s death deeply shook the Bangladeshi community in Woodside and across New York City. On May 15, local Bangladeshi residents joined members of Community Board 2 at a rally near the crash site, demanding urgent safety improvements along Roosevelt Avenue.
The demonstration highlighted longstanding concerns about deteriorated crosswalks, inadequate street lighting, and the dangers posed by heavy commercial vehicle traffic in the area. Community leaders urged city officials to take immediate action to improve pedestrian safety and prevent similar tragedies in the future.
For many residents, Nishat’s death has become a painful symbol of the need for safer streets. Community members say they hope meaningful changes will be made so that no other family has to endure the loss of a loved one under similar circumstances.
