A thief did the most inhumane thing ever – stealing from a dead man crushed by a truck in Manhattan. And the cold-blooded thief was cheered on by apathetic bystanders who had gathered to watch her feat.
The incident was recorded but unfortunately, the police have been unable to identify the pedestrian, believed to be in his 50s, who had been crushed under a tractor-trailer in Midtown or inform his family of his death. The thief, a woman, was also not identified.
Police said the gruesome accident occurred as the victim was crossing Eighth Avenue at West 44th Street around 11:30 a.m on Thursday. The video shows the thief, wearing white pants and a black jacket, jouncing under the truck toward the dead man and heartlessly reaching for his wallet. Bystanders seem unbothered by her action, and in fact urge her on. A man says "Go ahead, gangsta! Go ahead!" as he watches the ghoulish incident.
Some shocked witnesses called the police about the thief. However, the police failed to apprehend the thief who is also wanted for grand larceny. The police were not able to identify the crushed pedestrian without the wallet. As such, they have been unable to reach out to his family.
A police spokeswoman said no charges have been filed against the driver.
Meanwhile, New Yorkers have been disturbed by the whole episode. They were shown the shocking video of the thief robbing a dead man. Some described the incident as "Gladiators. Nobody came in to stop?" A security guard at St. James Theatre on West 44th Street said he was too "lost for words". "To see somebody dead under a truck and actually do that – that's horrible," he said.
A young tech engineer expressed disappointment. "I didn't think New York City was the kind of place where that would happen." He acknowledged that they are used to being all grumpy and frustrated at each other. "But we're also supposed to stick up for each other and not like convince each other to do terrible things."
