Palm Beach Gardens, FL — January 27, 2026, Susan Schaufeld was killed in a dump truck accident at about 8:30 a.m. on Ryder Cup Boulevard.

Authorities said a Waste Management truck hit a pedestrian near the intersection with Glencairn Road.

The pedestrian, 81-year-old Susan Schaufeld, died January 29 at a local hospital from injuries suffered in the crash, according to authorities.

The dump truck driver was cited for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, authorities said.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Palm Beach County crash at this time.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people hear about a pedestrian being hit in a crosswalk by a commercial vehicle, the first question on their minds is usually a simple one: How does something like that even happen? It’s a fair question, because for all the risks that come with walking near traffic, marked crosswalks are supposed to be among the safest places for pedestrians. So when a dump truck driver reportedly fails to yield and someone ends up dead, there’s reason to dig much deeper.

The early reports indicate that a Waste Management dump truck struck an 81-year-old woman in the crosswalk and that the driver was cited for failing to yield. That sounds straightforward enough, but citations, while meaningful, are only one part of a much larger picture. In my experience, if you stop investigating at the traffic ticket, you miss the real causes of the crash.

To understand what truly happened here, several critical questions still need answering. For example:

• Was the truck turning at the time of the crash?
• Was the driver distracted, perhaps by a cell phone or something else inside the cab?
• Did the vehicle have visibility limitations or blind spots that weren’t properly accounted for?
• Were in-cab cameras, if installed, reviewed to see what the driver saw (or didn’t see)?
• What does the truck’s engine control module data reveal about speed, braking or steering?

Those questions don’t just help explain what happened; they help identify whether this was an isolated driver error or the product of systemic issues. I've handled cases where a commercial driver made a serious mistake, but further investigation revealed that their employer barely trained them or sent them out in trucks with obstructed sightlines and faulty mirrors. In cases like these, responsibility doesn’t stop at the driver; it often goes all the way up the chain.

There’s also the question of Waste Management’s own safety procedures. Were their drivers adequately trained for urban or residential routes with pedestrians? Are routine safety checks in place to confirm that mirrors and visibility aids are working properly? Without answers to these questions, it’s impossible to say whether this crash was a momentary lapse or part of a pattern.

Key Takeaways:

• A citation for failing to yield is only the beginning, not the end, of determining responsibility.
• Critical evidence — from black box data to dash cams — may reveal whether the driver was distracted, impaired or failed to see the pedestrian in time.
• It’s unclear whether Waste Management’s hiring, training or supervision practices played a role.
• Independent investigation is essential to determine whether systemic issues contributed to the crash.
• Pedestrian-in-crosswalk cases often involve complex visibility and timing factors that can’t be evaluated without expert analysis.