Bicyclist run over by Chicago city truck in Avondale in critical condition

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A bicyclist was struck and pinned underneath a city truck on Chicago's Northwest Side Tuesday morning.

The accident happened at the corner of W. Belmont Ave. and N Milwaukee Ave. around 8:30 a.m. in the Avondale neighborhood.

Witnesses said a woman on a bike was struck and dragged by a city maintenance truck as its driver made a right turn at the busy intersection.

Video from a nearby business captured the accident. ABC7 has blurred the disturbing images that show the woman underneath the vehicle.

"The only way the truck stop [was] because the local guys who are looking for work here were kind enough to hear the screams of the lady and run in front of truck tell him to stop," said Esteban Burgoa, a local businessman.

The markings on the truck indicate it belongs to the Chicago Department of Transportation's Streets and Sanitation Department.

The truck appeared to have side guards installed as mandated by a 2017 city ordinance to help prevent someone from falling under a truck's wheels.

Day laborer Eduardo Rosali was one of the men who jumped in front of the truck after he saw the woman get run over.

"The lady is under the truck. She's screaming," Rosali recalled. "We saw the truck and went and pull on her. She couldn't get out by herself."

The woman was taken to the hospital in serious but stable condition, according to CFD spokesperson Larry Langford.

Residents in the area say the intersection is full of blind spots for drivers and pedestrians, and is dangerous.

"So if a driver coming at 20 mph is making a turn, it's not going to be able to stop," Burgoa said.

The 48-year-old male driver of the truck was taken to Swedish Hospital for observation. He told investigators that the 31-year-old bicyclist was in his blind spot, a police spokeswoman told the Sun-Times Media Wire.

The Chicago Police Department's Major Accidents unit is investigating the incident.

Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this article.