A woman was killed when scaffolding collapsed on her in East Harlem Tuesday morning after it was struck by a car in a chain-reaction crash sparked by a private sanitation truck driver, police said.

The freak chain of events was set in motion when the sanitation truck driver, heading uptown on First Ave., struck a parked and unoccupied Kia Forte sedan near E 101st St. about 6:25 a.m., cops said. The van was pushed into the scaffolding by the impact, causing the deadly collapse.

The woman who had been walking under the scaffolding died at the scene. Cops were working to determine the identity of the victim, who is believed to be in her 50s or 60s.

A private garbage truck crashed into scaffolding on E. 101st St. just past 1st Ave. on Tuesday Dec. 23, 2025. One pedestrian was killed by falling scaffolding.
A private garbage truck sparked a chain-reaction crash that led to a scaffolding collapse on E. 101st St. and First Ave. Tuesday. One pedestrian was killed by the falling scaffolding. (Barry Williams / New York Daily News)

The 47-year-old sanitation driver and the co-worker riding with him, a 50-year-old man, were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.

No charges were immediately filed as the cause of the crash is investigated.