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Cherry Hill grandmother killed by SEPTA bus in Center City, baby in stroller unhurt

A 64-year-old woman pushing a stroller with an infant was fatally struck by a SEPTA bus in Center City late Monday afternoon, police said.

Emergency personnel investigate the scene of a fatal accident after a SEPTA bus hit a pedestrian around 5 p.m. Monday near the corner of Chestnut Street and 23rd Street in Center City on Monday.
Emergency personnel investigate the scene of a fatal accident after a SEPTA bus hit a pedestrian around 5 p.m. Monday near the corner of Chestnut Street and 23rd Street in Center City on Monday.Read more(For the Inquirer / Charles Mostoller)

Police on Tuesday identified the 64-year-old woman who was pushing a baby stroller and was fatally struck by a SEPTA bus in Center City late Monday afternoon as Lidia Procaccino of Cherry Hill.

The accident occurred just after 5 p.m. as Procaccino was crossing Chestnut Street at 23rd. She was hit and dragged a short distance by a Route 9 bus, police have said.

The baby, a 9-month-old boy, was not hurt, but was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia as a precaution, where he was in stable condition, police said.

The police Accident Investigation District said Tuesday that Procaccino was the baby's grandmother.

The bus was traveling south on 23rd Street and was trying to make a left turn onto Chestnut when it struck Procaccino, who was walking south on 23rd in the crosswalk, police said. She and the bus had a green light. 

The bus driver didn't see her, police said.

Procaccino, of the unit block of Strathmore Drive, suffered severe internal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene shortly afterward by medics.

The bus, driven by a 32-year-old woman, had three passengers on board at the time. No one on the bus was injured.

No one answered the door at Procaccino's home Tuesday.

Myrna Escareal, 70, who lives next-door, said she had just seen Procaccino on Sunday, when the two waved to each other outside.

"Oh my God," Escareal said. "Life is so short."

Escareal said Procaccino has a husband and at least one grown child.