A 91-year-old Staten Island great-great-grandmother was fatally struck by a city garbage truck Friday morning as she walked back from a corner deli, cops said.
Maria Valentino was struck as she crossed Clove Road near Delafield Avenue in Port Richmond at 7:22 a.m., cops said.
“She went to that deli everyday for coffee and a newspaper,” sobbed granddaughter Angela Zerega, 29. “She was 91 years old, and to go like this? It’s just really hard.”
The NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad is looking into the incident, cops said.
Valentino had tomato sauce and meatballs on her stove when she was killed, her granddaughter said.
“That was her signature thing to hand out to all the siblings,” Zerega said.
“She was well loved by everybody. Even our friends would call her nanny,” said Zerega, adding that her grandmother is survived by her children, 13 grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great-grandchildren.