San Jose woman fatally hit by garbage truck while taking out trash, police say
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A woman taking out the trash in front of her home was hit and killed by a garbage truck. Wednesday morning's accident was San Jose's 8th pedestrian fatality this year - and the year is barely a month old.
"Apparently the victim was taking out, garbage cans, entered a blind spot and was struck at that time," said Steve Aponte with San Jose Police Department.
Police say the driver stayed at the scene and was cooperative.
An investigation is still ongoing but police say there was no indication of drugs or alcohol.
Wednesday afternoon, the company the driver worked for, California Waste Solutions, sent us a statement that said in part:
"We are deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic accident that occurred this morning, and our sincerest condolences go out to the individual's loved ones. CWS services nearly 170,000 households in San Jose daily and as such, the safety of our customers and our employees is of the utmost priority. CWS is cooperating and working closely with the San Jose Police Department and the City officials, as well as conducting our own investigation to determine the root cause of the accident, but we are not permitted to comment on the ongoing investigation at this time. In the meantime, we will do all we can to support our community and our employees."
The Wednesday fatality marks the city's 10th fatal collision of 2022, the 11th victim of a fatal collision and the eighth victim who was a pedestrian.
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"Contrast to last year in 2021, the 10th incident occurred April 1, and the eighth pedestrian killed in the city in 2021 actually happened June 12," Aponte said, "So we are at record high numbers at this time."
Since 2015, The City of San Jose declared a Vision Zero initiative with the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities.
The city is investing $6 million in infrastructure improvements.
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Colin Heyne, with the Department of Transportation says that an incident like Wednesday's is relatively rare.
"For the most part, local neighborhood residential streets are our safest streets in San Jose," Heyne said, "We see the vast majority of fatal and severe traffic crashes happening on our major roadways."
Though circumstances vary among crashes, Heyne says speeding is a primary cause in fatalities and that everyone can play a role in preventing more tragedy.
"We need the whole community to help us to take responsibility for their own attitudes and their own behaviors when they're using the road," Heyne said.
