A grandmother-of-eight was decapitated by a bin lorry outside a primary school in California.
Maria Rubalcava de Ruesga was crushed to death under the tyres of the vehicle on Wednesday in Santa Ana/
The 69-year-old, who had recently survived cancer, was struck as the truck was circling a roundabout near Pio Pico Elementary School.
A GoFundMe page set up by her family said she had just battled pancreatic cancer and was ‘just beginning to feel like herself again’.
It read: ‘Losing her so suddenly has left us in complete shock. She leaves behind a heavy void in our hearts that can never be filled.
‘She also leaves behind eight grandchildren who loved her deeply and will miss her more than words can express.’
ABC7 reported that the incident took place while children and their families were walking in the area.
Witnesses of the crash are being supported by the Santa Ana Unified School District.
An investigation into the incident led by the local police department traffic division is ongoing.
Santa Ana Police Department said that the driver had stopped at the scene and complied with inquiry.
It said in a statement: ‘A trash truck was involved in a fatal traffic collision with a pedestrian in the 600 block of S. Shelton Street.
‘On November 19, 2025, at approximately 7.56am, the Santa Ana Police Department received multiple calls reporting a traffic collision in the residential area of Shelton and Bishop Streets.
‘Officers, along with the Orange County Fire Authority, responded to the scene and discovered that a trash truck collided with a pedestrian.
‘The pedestrian, identified as 69-year-old Maria Rubalcava de Ruesga of Santa Ana, was pronounced dead at the scene OCFA.’
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