An 91-year-old woman has died after being hit by a lorry in Sutton town centre.

The pensioner was struck by a scaffolding truck near a pedestrian crossing in Brighton Road just before 8.45am.

Paramedics treated the woman in the southbound carriage of the road but she was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after.

Medics erected a tent over the woman, who was struck near the junction with Mulgrave Road.

Police were called by London Ambulance Service at 8.43am and officers have shut the road and cordoned off parts of the pavement.

A teenager who was driving in front of the scaffolding truck said the pensioner had gone under its wheels after being hit.

The 19-year-old, who did not want to be named, said the woman had been crossing the road just after the pedestrian crossing.

She stopped her car and called 999 and rushed to help the woman, who was still concious and breathing.

The teenager said: "I did not think she would even be alive when I got there. She went right under.

"I don't think the lorry driver saw her at all. I don't think it was bad driving from him.

"But it wasn't the woman's fault either. It is just one of those things. It was just unfortunate. It is really sad situation."

She added: "I just want [the pensioner's] family to know there were people with her at all times.

"There was a very kind man on a bike gave her first aid but there was not much he could do. People came out of the shops and brought her blankets."

The woman died about 30 minutes after being hit, the teenager said.

She added: "She had an injury to her head and her legs were in a bad way."

Witnesses described hearing screams after the collision, which happened at the traffic lights near to Your Move estate agents.

Some passers-by were in tears as the woman was paramedics treated in the road.

London Fire Brigade also sent 15 firefighters from Sutton and Croydon stations to the scene.

Police officers spoke to the driver of the truck after the woman's death but no arrests have been made.

One witness said: "I saw the scaffolding truck pull up after running her over.

"The drivers got out and walked towards her. She wasn't moving."

Another witness, a woman, said: "I didn't see anything but I heard a loud scream."

Concerns have previously been raised about road safety at the junction, which was redesigned in 2013 as part of Sutton Council's Sutton Gateway project.

Tony Shields, councillor for Sutton South, said: “It’s a great shame that my fears, which were commented on by myself prior to the investigation into this scheme, were ignored.

"And in light of such a tragic accident I wish I wasn’t right, but Sutton Council need to think again about this road and the junction, how it is laid out, because it is clearly not working.”

In December, another pensioner suffered potentially life-changing injuries when she was hit by a car outside Sutton station. 

A Sutton Council spokesman said: "We were sorry to hear about the fatal collision near the controlled pedestrian crossing in Brighton Road earlier today.

"We extend our sympathy to the family of the victim. The police are investigating the cause of the collision."

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