Pictured: Elderly woman, 83, who was killed by a cement truck as she crossed the road while holding her beloved husband’s hand - as the driver reveals he had no idea he hit anyone
- Gangotri Maharaj crossed road at Crows Nest before cement truck struck her
- The 83-year-old was holding her husband's hand before she was killed by truck
- Truck driver Nathan Kent said he initially had no idea he had hit the couple
- Mr Kent, 35, had been taken for mandatory testing and has not been charged
- In the moments after the crash tradesmen attempted to lift truck off the woman
- Her husband, who was injured nearby, could be heard yelling: 'My wife, my wife'
An elderly woman who was killed by a cement truck while crossing the road and holding her husband's hand at Crows Nest was days away from celebrating her wedding anniversary.
Gangotri Maharaj, 83, was walking with her partner Vijay across Willoughby Road, in the northern Sydney suburb, before she was run down by the heavy vehicle on Thursday morning.
Mrs Maharaj had only turned 83 last week, and was to celebrate her 61st wedding anniversary on the weekend.
Her grieving daughter Gita Singh released a statement, saying the family had been left devastated.
'We are still in shock as my mother lies dead on the road and my dad is lying in hospital asking if it was true. Devastated. Distraught.'
Just hours after the tragic accident, the shaken truck driver Nathan Kent, 35, told Daily Mail Australia he had no idea how the accident unfolded.
'I didn't see a thing. I didn't know anything until someone from the sidewalk yelled out for me to stop,' Mr Kent said.
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An elderly woman who was killed by a cement truck while crossing the road and holding her husband's hand at Crows Nest was days away from celebrating her wedding anniversary
Gangotri Maharaj, 83 (right), was walking with her partner Vijay (left) across Willoughby Road, in the northern Sydney suburb, before she was run down by the heavy vehicle on Thursday morning
Mrs Maharaj had only turned 83 last week, and was to celebrate her 61st wedding anniversary with her partner Vijay (pictured) on the weekend
'I'm really shaken up, I can't even imagine what they (the victim's family) are going through.'
Mr Kent was taken to hospital for mandatory drug and alcohol testing. He has not been charged.
The couple are understood to have been in the area to attend prepolling for the upcoming federal election.
Witnesses said the couple were crossing at the lights near the Willoughby Road and Albany Street intersection when the truck came around the corner and hit them.
Mrs Maharaj was dragged along the road under the truck for close to 15 metres, as her husband watched on in horror.
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He was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Meaghan Woodhouse, who works at Charlie Lovett cafe on the intersection, said she ran out and sat with the Mrs Maharaj's husband as the tradesman tried to free the woman.
'As I arrived I heard them yell out: 'There's somebody under there',' Ms Woodhouse said.
'Her husband was on his knees, looking desperately down the road, but I didn't know at that point that the woman was likely his wife.'
Truck driver Nathan Kent (pictured), who hit and killed an elderly woman on Thursday, said he initially had no idea he had struck her
The 83-year-old woman was crossing the road with her husband at the intersection of Albany Street and Willoughby Road (pictured) just after 11am when she was hit. She was dragged close to 15 metres down the street before the truck
A woman aged in her 80s has died after two pedestrians were run over by a cement truck at the intersection of Albany Street and Willoughby Road at Crow's Nest, in north Sydney
Daily Mail Australia understands the couple had been dropped off at the intersection by their daughter about 10.50am, before they entered a nearby Coles supermarket.
Close to 15 minutes later the couple left the store, but as they crossed the road to go back to meet their daughter the cement truck hit them both.
After learning his wife had been killed, the Mr Maharaj fell to one knee on the ground and screamed: 'My wife, my wife'.
'The truck was turning left and I saw the old man and the old lady, the old man was holding the old lady's hand,' Jiraphat Seesai, who works at a nearby shop, said.
'They got crushed by the truck and the old lady (went) under the truck.
'The old man said: 'My wife, my wife'.'
In the moments after the crash, tradesmen at a nearby worksite rushed to the scene and tried to lift the cement truck (pictured) off the woman. A blue tent was placed next to the truck by police
Daily Mail Australia understands the couple had been dropped off at the intersection by their daughter about 10.50am to do their shopping at a nearby Coles supermarket (pictured left)
NSW Ambulance inspector Carolyn Parish told Sydney Morning Herald Mrs Maharaj was found trapped under the truck.
'The scene was quite stressful and traumatic for all emergency services, quite heart-wrenching for paramedics particularly,' she said.
Ms Parish described the scene as 'very distressing' and 'one of the more traumatic' scenes she had attended.
There are road closures in the surrounding areas as local officers commence inquiries into the accident.
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