According to police, the 47-year-old driver was traveling north on First Avenue when the truck collided with a parked and unattended Kia Forte while approaching the intersection at East 101st Street.
The Kia Forte was pushed onto the sidewalk, where it careened into the scaffolding.
The scaffolding then collapsed and struck a woman who was standing beneath it. She was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS.
The victim was identified as 75-year-old Li Ying Liang.
The garbage-truck driver and his 50-year-old passenger were taken to a local hospital in stable condition. Three others suffered minor injuries.
The Department of Buildings says the garage truck took out 80 feet of scaffolding. The building itself is not damaged.
A spokesperson for Classic Recycling says the company takes safety very seriously and is investigating this crash.
Liang was killed steps away from the plants she loved to water, right outside her building.
"I'm really hurt. I'm really depressed," said the victim's friend Millie Ortiz. "I knew her - she was a sweet lady. She didn't bother nobody. She comes in the morning with her little shopping cart; picks up cans and bottles and takes it to the supermarket and cashes it. She didn't bother nobody."
The victim beautified the neighborhood for people like Janina, a resident who likes to sit outside with her dog Rocky, who missed the tragedy by 20 minutes.
Neighbors say the area won't blossom the way it did without her.
The NYPD's Collision Investigation Squad is on the case trying to figure out what caused the driver to lose control.
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