A child died and his mother is in critical condition after being hit by a city garbage truck as they walked to school in Queens early Tuesday, according to police.

Police say the 40-year-old woman and her 10-year-old son were hit near 57th Avenue and 97th Street around 7 a.m. Both were taken to a hospital in critical condition, where the boy eventually died.

Witnesses tell News 4 a woman ran into a bodega and grabbed paper towels to try to help the injured family members before police arrived. Neighbors described total shock. One witness said he knows the victims and that they are from Nepal. He said they were walking to school when they were hit.

The driver stayed at the scene; no charges have been filed but the investigation is ongoing, police say. The city's Department of Sanitation referred questions to the NYPD, adding, "We take this tragedy extremely seriously and the collision is currently under investigation."

Calling the news "heartbreaking," Mayor de Blasio said the driver had been suspended pending the results of the investigation.

Raw footage posted to the Citizen app showed a sprawling scene, with multiple emergency vehicles and police cars converging on the area.

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/woman-child-badly-hurt-after-being-hit-by-truck-in-queens/2255964/