Woman, 73, Dies After Being Struck By Commercial Van

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An elderly woman was killed on the Upper East Side after being hit by a commercial van Friday afternoon.

Pjerin Gjerji, 48, was driving a commercial van when he hit a 73-year-old woman in the crosswalk at 89th Street and York Avenue around 3 p.m., police said.

CBS2's Jessica Moore spoke with the man who found her and called for help.

"She wasn't bleeding at all, but she was laid out and she couldn't respond," Lonnie Taylor said. "The EMS asked her if she could speak and she couldn't respond at all. EMS came very quickly, 5 minutes tops."

Police said the woman later died at the hospital.

"It's just a bad situation. It's just not a good day when you see somebody get hurt like that," Taylor said.

The moment was all too real for Hadara Arkin who lives next door.

"I'm always careful after I was hit by a car," she said. "For a long time I panicked when I crossed the street."

"Now after this, I'm shivering again."

Gjerji was charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian and failing to exercise due care.

Police identified the woman as Blanca Pagan.