A city Department of Transportation worker was arrested Tuesday for fatally striking a mother of two while driving a Mack dump truck in Queens, cops said.
Jonathan Adorno, 49, was charged with misdemeanor failure to yield to a pedestrian causing injury and failure to exercise due care for the collision that killed 31-year-old Nilufar Komilova on March 10. He faces a fine of up to $250, 30 days in jail or both if convicted on the top charge.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragic death and extend our heartfelt condolences to the victim’s family,” said DOT spokesman Vincent Barone. “Safety is at the core of our mission, and we take incidents like this extremely seriously. We are fully cooperating with law enforcement and conducting an internal review to better understand the circumstances surrounding this crash.”
Komilova was struck by the driver of a yellow DOT dump truck as he made a right turn off Metropolitan Ave. onto Lefferts Blvd. in Kew Gardens just before 9 a.m., cops said. She died at the scene.
Komilova leaves two children, a 3-year-old boy and a daughter, 7. She had just dropped her girl off at Public School 99 and was heading home when she was struck two blocks from her apartment, a family friend told the Daily News.
“All night they were asking for their mother,” Akobir Azizov said of the victim’s children a day after the crash. “Terrible, terrible night for the kids. They were looking for their mom. We’re just saying she is in the hospital now, she has a doctor’s appointment. We don’t want to hurt their feelings, it’s very hard for everybody.”
“She usually takes Lefferts Blvd.,” the friend said of Komilova’s usual walking route. “It’s interesting because she always obeyed traffic laws, she never jaywalking, she would wait for the change signal to cross the street — and look what happened.”
Nilufar Komilova (inset) was hit by the driver of a yellow Mack dump truck as he made a right turn off Metropolitan Ave. onto Lefferts Blvd. in Kew Gardens, Queens, just before 9 a.m. on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (Gardiner Anderson / New York Daily News; GoFundMe)
The victim’s husband, who works as an Uber driver to support his family, called Azizov about two hours after the crash, frantic to find his wife.
“He called me and said, ‘I can’t find my wife.’ I thought maybe she went shopping but she wasn’t responding to calls. We called police, and after that we found out there was an accident,” Azizov said.
They later learned that the truck had dragged Komilova two blocks before stopping, Azizov said.
“We ate, trying to stay with the husband 24/7 to comfort him,” he said. “His blood pressure is high. He didn’t eat. He didn’t sleep. It’s a disaster.”
The NYPD Highway Patrol investigates after Nilufar Komilova was fatally struck by a DOT truck on Lefferts Blvd. and 84th St. in Queens, New York, on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (Gardiner Anderson / New York Daily News)
Komilova was a housewife who dedicated her life to her family, Azizov said.
“It’s a beautiful family,” he said. “She was an amazing person and stuck together with her family.”
The DOT truck driver remained at the scene.