Pedestrian struck and killed by cement truck near Yonge and Eglinton

A 54-year-old woman was struck and killed by a cement truck while trying to cross the street in the Yonge and Eglinton area Tuesday morning, police say.

Emergency crews were called about the incident just after 10 a.m.

Investigators say it happened near the intersection of Yonge Street and Erskine Avenue.

Sgt. Brett Moore initially said the victim was crossing Yonge Street, but a later police news release said the woman was in fact crossing Erskine Avenue. She was hit as the truck turned off Yonge Street and onto Erskine Avenue, police now say.

"We know the local community is concerned and upset," Moore said. 

The driver of the truck, a 54-year-old man, was taken to hospital to be examined for shock "amongst other things," Moore said.

Police are asking people to avoid the area. Investigators are now examining the truck, looking at the driver's qualifications and trying to figure out exactly where he was going, Moore said.

Police are also looking for any security camera or dash cam footage of the crash.

Nhu Yorke told CBC News she was sitting in a nearby Starbucks when she heard the commotion of the crash.

"I heard someone yelling 'stop, stop' at the top of his lungs," Yorke said, adding that she thought it was a fender bender until she saw the look on that man's face.

"I looked down, and there I saw the foot of a pedestrian," she said.

"I was just in total shock… I was so shaken up."

Toronto police statistics show there have been at least 22 pedestrian deaths in the city so far this year. 

That's compared to at least nine driver deaths and seven motorcyclist deaths.