Woman hit, killed by rig on Queens Blvd.

The boulevard of Death claimed another life Wednesday when a woman walking toward a Queens mall was run over by a cement truck, police and witnesses said.

The woman had just stepped into a crosswalk on Queens Blvd. when a cement truck turned from Woodhaven Blvd. and crushed her, horrified witnesses said.

The victim, who was described by officials as a Latina in her 60s, was walking north along Woodhaven Blvd. toward the Queens Center Mall about 1p.m. when she tried to cross in front of the truck.

She may have stumbled and fallen beneath the Commercial Concrete Corp. truck's wheels, police said.

The impact scattered the contents of the woman's black purse across the street. She died at the scene.

Her name was not immediately released by police because her family had not yet been notified of her death.

The driver of the truck, who attempted to help the mortally injured woman after the impact, stayed at the scene and passed a Breathalyzer test, police said.

No charges were filed.

Between 1993 and 2000, Queens Blvd. claimed 72 pedestrian lives, leading the New York Daily News to dub the street the Boulevard of Death.

Commentary: The City of New York keeps fiddling with the road configuration and timing of the lights to try to make Queens Boulevard less deadly. Nevertheless, hit-and-run accidents are all too common; the injuries to pedestrians hit by cars tend to be severe -- broken bones, brain damage and such.

The City of New York keeps fiddling with the road configuration and timing of the lights to try to make Queens Boulevard less deadly. Nevertheless, hit-and-run accidents are all too common; the injuries to pedestrians hit by cars tend to be severe -- broken bones, brain damage and such.

From: Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx)

Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx)