CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Friends and relatives are mourning an 82-year-old Somerville woman who was struck and killed by a loose firetruck hose in a freak accident this week, Boston TV station WCVB reported.
Gertrude King, 82, was killed Tuesday when a firetruck driving in Cambridge made a left turn and a loose fire hose went flying in her direction as she stood in a median. Investigators believe it hit her behind the knees and tore her leg apart.
Police said the hose dragging behind the engine during the emergency call extended the length of a city block.
"We do know the hose is 200 feet long and we believe that the hose was completely off the truck and being dragged at the time it struck," Cambridge Police Deputy Superintendent Jack Albert said.
King, "Aunty Trudy" to her relatives, had no time to get out of the way.
"She was very special," said Elanor Raniri, who lives in the same apartment complex as King. She learned of her friend's death Thursday morning.
"It's unbelievable. It's hard to take in," Raniri said.
"It was just such a shock. No matter where she went, she loved to walk. Different people would meet her and say, 'Would you like a ride?' And she'd say, 'I'd rather walk,'" apartment complex resident Doris Pratt said.
Doctors operated on King's leg. It would have been amputated if she had survived, according to her friends. She died almost two days after the accident, and police said they have not yet determined how the hose became dislodged.
Gertrude King, 82, was killed Tuesday when a firetruck driving in Cambridge made a left turn and a loose fire hose went flying in her direction as she stood in a median. Investigators believe it hit her behind the knees and tore her leg apart.
Police said the hose dragging behind the engine during the emergency call extended the length of a city block.
"We do know the hose is 200 feet long and we believe that the hose was completely off the truck and being dragged at the time it struck," Cambridge Police Deputy Superintendent Jack Albert said.
King, "Aunty Trudy" to her relatives, had no time to get out of the way.
"She was very special," said Elanor Raniri, who lives in the same apartment complex as King. She learned of her friend's death Thursday morning.
"It's unbelievable. It's hard to take in," Raniri said.
"It was just such a shock. No matter where she went, she loved to walk. Different people would meet her and say, 'Would you like a ride?' And she'd say, 'I'd rather walk,'" apartment complex resident Doris Pratt said.
Doctors operated on King's leg. It would have been amputated if she had survived, according to her friends. She died almost two days after the accident, and police said they have not yet determined how the hose became dislodged.
